Mega Man Dream Shifter - Book One
by Ourian
Summary: Seekers... Those who have the power to walk both the real world and the dream world known as Dreamscape... In the Dreamscape, dreams manifest and take form... Their mission: Protect the population from Nightmares, bad dreams that have become strong enough to possess humans. One of these Seekers, however, fights to uncover the truth of the past. His name is Mega Man.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I - Awakening

 _Rize City... The biggest city in the world and home to some of the greatest minds Earth has ever seen. One of these minds, in fact, was the reason that we have been made aware that there is an alternate world that cannot be seen by normal means and runs parallel to our own world: the Dreamscape. In the Dreamscape, dreams manifest into beings that represent the strongest emotion in the dream they were born from. These beings are called vibes. Normally vibes are peaceful, however there are those who are born from the bad dreams as well... These are, ironically, the nightmares and if they are strong enough, they can posess the human who dreamed them and become a Vibrant, increasing their power ten fold._

 _Thankfully, these nightmares and Vibrants are constantly under watch by a special police force that have the power to enter the Dreamscape and take them out. These brave men and women are called Seekers and their team is called the Nightmare Eradication Squad, or NES. This team was first founded ten years ago by a scientist and seven others who discovered the Dreamscape and became the first Seekers. Of the original team, only three remain alive and well-known today, two are missing, and the rest have been killed in the line of duty._

 _In fact, my father is actually the commander of Rize City's NES. He's not just any Seeker either, he's an Origin! One of the first eight! One day, I'll join him as a Seeker and stop the nightmares! We will become the most powerful team NES has to offer and everyone will know my name! Shir-_

"Shiroji Akihiko! If you fall asleep in this classroom one more time I will write you up!" Someone shouted, causing Shiroji to look up lazily, drool on his chin.

"Aw come on Miss Zanders... Everyone knows this topic anyway..." he replied, yawning and wiping the drool off his chin. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index finger, a teacher's version of a facepalm.

"Oh really? Then tell me, what is the name of the device that allows a human to become a Seeker and how does it work?" She replied, smirking at him. He surprised her by walking up to the touch-screen board and started drawing what looked like a smart phone only it was designed to fit on your wrist.

"The name of the device is called the Particle Converter, or more commonly known as a ParCon. As its name describes, it converts our physical bodies into a spiritual form that allows us to enter the Dreamscape. As to how it does this, nobody knows since that information is kept classified." He continued to draw pictures on the screen to demonstrate his explaination. "Did you honestly think that the son of one of the Origins wouldn't know this stuff?!" Miss Zanders' smuggish expression quickly turned into one of pure annoyance.

"Okay then, how about you explain this to us then, since you're the expert. What was the name of the scientist that founded NES?" She knew she got him this time. He knew a lot about the gadgets and the Seekers themselves, but she knew that he always failed to grasp the history of the subject. His silence was enough to satisfy her. "That's what I thought! Now sit back down and start paying attention. For everyone's information, the scientist's name was Sosuke Neroku. Now turn to page five hundred and thirty four." She told everyone, waving an arm across the screen to erase the drawings as he walked away. She stopped, however, when she saw the words "Evil Hag" with an arrow pointing at her. She turned around furiously, the class laughing once they realized what Shiroji had done. One of his classmates even held a hand out to give him a high five, which Shiroji accepted with a smile.

"THAT DOES IT, SHIROJI!" She screams, pulling out an incident sheet and writing him up. After she was finished, she walked over to him and slammed the paper on his desk and pointed to the door, his usual signal to leave the room. It was common knowledge that he and Miss Zanders hated each other. Well _she_ hated him for some reason, but he suspected that it had something to do with the fact that she used to have a crush on his dad, but he turned her down. This leads him to believe that she tries to get even by giving him a hard time any chance she gets. He just sighed, grabbed the paper, and started walking out of the classroom.

As he walked down the hall, he passed the trophy case where he couldn't help but stare at the shiny gold badge in the front that said, "Kizuru Akihiko - Rize City Matrial Arts Champion year 2437." As he stared at it, he couldn't help but cry to himself. Kizuru was Shiroji's older brother who joined NES as their father's partner. Sadly, the nightmare he was supposed to destroy took over his girlfriend's body and became an abnormally powerful Vibrant. He refused to fight back and eventually the Vibrant killed him and his girlfriend in an explosion and escaped. There was nothing left of his body.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the day and bringing Shiroji back to reality. Figuring that if he didn't want to be murderd tomorrow by Miss Zanders, he would still stop by the office before leaving.

As he walked into the office the secretary looked at the paper in his hand and didn't even say anything and just pointed him to the door behind her, knowing the routine with him and Miss Zanders. Shiroji just nodded and knocked on the door before walking in. Mr. Roswell, a man in his late fifties with graying brown hair and always wore a suit, was sitting behind his desk and rolled his eyes as Shiroji walked in.

"Okay what did the devil send you here for this time buddy?" He said sarcastically. It was also known that Mr. Roswell wasn't very fond of Miss Zanders either, however he can't fire her due to the fact that she was still a decent teacher. Shiroji just sat in his usual chair and sighed.

"I swear she just hates me... although I have to admit I DID sort of provoke her this time..." He told him, handing him the incident sheet. Surprisingly enough, Mr. Roswell just chuckled.

"Did you really call her an evil hag?" He asked him, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. When Shiroji nodded, the principal just laughed. "I couldn't agree more!" This made Shiroji smile too. This is why he liked Mr. Roswell; he had a cool, down to earth attitude and acted more like a father figure to his students than anything else.

"I swear that woman needs to get laid..." Shiroji said aloud. "Sorry sir!" He added, remembering that Mr. Roswell was still the principal, no matter how cool he was. He just smiled and shook his head as he wrote something and handed it to Shiroji. It was his detention schedule for next week. "I take it you bumped down the punishment for me again?"

"All you did was call her an evil hag... and yet she requested detention for nine school days... I would bump it down to just two days, however considering the size of your file I can't really go much lower than four."

"That's okay sir. I appreciate what you could do." Shiroji replied with a smile.

"Just promise me one thing, Shiro..."

"What would that be?"

"Please please PLEASE try to stay out of Miss Zanders' hair! I know everyone hates her but I can do with some peace for a little bit." He answered, winking. Shiroji promised he would try to stay on her good side, although that was nearly impossible, and left to go get his stuff from his locker.

As he walked home, he couldn't help but notice that he absentmindedly took a detour and was now walking down the road where his brother was killed. He found himself walking over to the oak tree in the park down the road, which still had scorch marks on its bark from the explosion. He just sat against it for a little while, depressed and staring down at his reflection in a puddle next to him. He had short blonde hair and brown eyes and had an earring shaped like a crescent moon in his right ear that used to belong to Kizuru. There used to be two, however this was the only one found after the explosion.

"I swear Ruru! I will join NES and kill that Vibrant! I will make it pay for what it did to you and Jessica!" He stated, clenching his fist so tight that his fingernails dug into his palm, threatening to cut him. After sitting there for about a half an hour, he starts to leave when something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye next to the tree. Picking it up, he notices it looks like a ParCon, however it looked old and didn't have a brace for his wrist. Thinking that he would show it to his dad, he put it into his backpack and started to walk home.

Along the way, he noticed a couple of men in uniform running towards a house nearby, both wearing ParCons on their wrists. In an instant, he saw them transform, donning armor and weapons, and rushed off. Curiosity getting the better of him, Shiroji hops onto his skateboard and follows them, eventually stopping in front of the house on the corner where an older woman was wreaking havoc on a car in the driveway.

 _An incomplete possession..._ He thought, watching as the woman went berserk, smashing every inch of the car with a baseball bat while a man, apparently the husband, tried to take it from her. A poor decision since even a partial possession from a Nightmare could increase the strength of the human it possessed considerably. She proved just that when she grabbed him and threw him onto the car effortlessly. She then prepared to smash his head in with the baseball bat, only to have it shot out of her hand by one of the Seekers. While the shooter distracted the woman, the other Seeker snuck up behind her and attempted to take her down and remove the Nightmare before she could become a Vibrant. Sadly, the woman smacked him to the ground and forced the shooter to take aim and fire.

It was only a warning shot to get her attention, however, allowing the other Seeker to grab her and pin her down while using his ParCon to exercise the Nightmare, his hand glowing and pulling a ghost-like thing from the woman's body. Once out, the Nightmare took its true form: a phantom-like figure that reminded him of a ghast from an anime that he watched a while back. Once it was detached from its host, the shooter took aim and fired once more, lodging an energy bullet right in the center of its head and killing it. Nodding in approval, Shiroji continued on his way back to his house.

As he got home, he walked upstairs to his room and got on his computer to check for his homework assignments. When he found that he didn't have any weekend homework, he went over to his bed and put his headphones on, just laying there as he shook his foot to the beat of his favorite rock group "Shine." Eventually, he falls asleep with his headphones on, unaware of the eerie glow from his backpack...

The next morning he went downstairs to find his dad, only to find that nobody was home. Thinking that this was wierd for a Saturday, he looked over to the calender to see today's date circled with the words "Sierra's Party 1:30pm." He then looked at the clock and saw that it was already a quarter after one.

"Holy crap I completely forgot! They could've woke me up!" He said, rushing to his room and grabbing a new shirt and throwing his shoes on. He was so frustrated that nobody came to wake him. Sierra was his best friend since they were five, which was about twelves years ago. Finally getting his shoes tied and throwing on a hat, he snatches his backpack, which had Sierra's gift in it, and his skateboard up and runs outside, throwing the skateboard down in front of him and jumping on it to give him a little extra speed as he rushed to Sierra's house.

Weaving around people, dogs and trees, he pushed himself as hard as he could to ensure he wasn't late. He even knocked someone down as he made a sharp turn.

"Holy crap I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?!" He asked, holding out a hand to help her up. She had violet hair and deep crimson eyes. As she grabbed his hand, he felt a chill down his spine as he stared into her eyes...

"I'm okay... thanks..." She said quietly, walking down the road without another glance back at him. All Shiroji could do was stare after her...

"Must be new in town..." HE said aloud, shaking his head violently as he hopped back onto his skateboard. "Crap! No time!" He shouted, looking at his watch and learning that he only had about seven minutes left before he was late.

Taking one last turn, he could see balloons tied to a mailbox, the telltale sign of a party, and increased his speed once more. As he got to the driveway, he stopped and bent over, catching his breath.

"I made it!" He said to himself as he stomped the back of the board, making it jump into the air so he could catch it as he walked up to Sierra's front door. As he walked inside however his sister gives him an evil glare as she walks over to him, although her blonde hair tied into a ponytail and cute blue eyes it made her seem a little less intimidating

"I was starting to think you were dead!" she yelled sarcastically. "I tried to wake you up for an hour before we left! AN HOUR!"

"Sorry I fell asleep with my headphones on. Why didn't you just come in?"

"The door was locked so I couldn't." She replied, poking him in the chest with every word.

"Sorry Becky. I'll be more careful not to lock my door anymore." He said apologetically. Becky just stared at him, as if deciding what to do with him. Eventually she turned around and started to walk off.

"I'll let it slide this time." She told him, walking into the kitchen. Chuckling and shaking his head, he looks for Sierra. After about a half an hour of asking guests about her, he comes to find that she hasn't talked to anyone all day. Worried, he goes upstairs to find her standing on the balcony. As he approached her, however, something seemed off about her. It wasn't like her to be away from her friends when they were over. Finally, he walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump a little.

"Everything okay?" He asked her, staring into her green eyes that complimented her long naturally colored pink hair that was tied back in a single braid. She looked at him, shadows under her eyes suggesting that she hasn't been sleeping well recently.

"Yeah..." She told him, however he wasn't convinced. "Really I am. I'll be downstairs in a minute." Feeling that maybe he should tell his dad about this, if he was even here, he went downstairs and asked Becky where their father was. When she told him that he had to work today, he swore.

"Why, what's wrong Shiro?" Becky asked him, concerned.

"It's about Sierra... she looks like she hasn't slept for days." Shiroji replied, worry written all over his face. Becky's concern turned into panic as she whispered to him.

"You don't think... it's a Nightmare... do you?"

"It could be... Call him, will ya? I forgot my phone at the house. I'll go check on her." He told her as she pulled her phone out to call their dad. _This is bad... IF that's true, a house full of people with a Nightmare on the loose will be a catastrophe..._ He thought, rushing over to the stairs. He barely made it half way up the steps when a gust of wind pushed him back downstairs, scaring the guests. Suddenly Sierra starts coming down the steps, her hair flowing behind her out of its braid and her eyes pupilless. It seemed as if the wind was spiralling around her.

"Dammit! EVERYONE GET OUT!" Shiroji shouted, making everyone run for the front door as he ran towards the back door, making Sierra, who was obviously possessed by a Vibrant, slowly follow him. As they both got outside, Sierra started to transform: White feathered wings sprouted from her back, her eyes turned completely red, two smaller wings sprouted right above her ears. Her fingers turned into pointed claws and her feet into talons. Finally, her body sprouted green feathers and a purple upper armor that mostly just covered her chest and lower armor that looked like a solid version of a bikini.

"Feeling brave, boy?" Sierra said, although her voice sounded as if there were two people talking in unison. The one voice was hers and the other was slightly lower pitched and more elegant. "Pitty... You are quite handsome too..." She said as she raised a claw and attempted to strike him, only to be tackled by a man in a blue bodysuit with a long black sleeveless jacket with blue trim that was long enough to reach his ankles and silver gauntlets, boots, and helmet that had a single blue gem on the forehead and a blue visor. On his waist was a triple longbarrelled handgun and on his back was a scythe. Shiroji recognized the man at once.

"DAD!" Shiroji exclaimed.

"Shiroji run! It's too dangerous here! Get everyone away!" His dad told him, grabbing his scythe as he began to fight Sierra.

"Don't hurt her, Dad, and be careful!" He yelled as he ran through the house only to stop when he heard what appeared to be static coming from his backpack. As he opened it, he noticed that something was glowing inside and dug around for its source. Finally he pulls out the ParCon he found and stares at its screen, the code "007-M3G4" was flashing on the screen. After staring at it for a minute, he looks back into the back yard to see his dad having a hard time with Sierra, then back to the ParCon.

He knew what he had to do...

Shiroji raised the ParCon into the air and pressed the button on the side, which he noticed every Seeker does to Shift into their Seeker Form, and becomes engulfed in a black aura. It felt as if he was being torn apart and pieced back together as a white body suit formed on him, then armor as black as night started to form starting with his boots, which had knee guards that ended in a point facing upward, then his gauntlets which had the same design elbow guards as his knee guards, then upper body armor with a violet gem in the center with a red scarf that trailed behind him wrapped around his neck, and finally the helmet which was more of a mask really, covered his lower face and forehead, had two blades that connected at a point at the center of his forehead and curved towards the back of his head, growing in size until they reached the upper back of his head where they just stopped suddenly, and a violet visor. His short blonde hair was now bleach white and spiked back. He had a blaster holstered to each thigh and strapped to his lower back by the waist was a short sword. He looked toward the back door and started to head back outside.

Outside, Sierra was starting to get the upper hand on Shiroji's father as she had arrow after arrow rain down on the yard, distracting the Seeker as he spun his scythe to deflect them. Despite this, however, an arrow still pierced his shoulder.

"Had enough yet?" She said smuggly, concentrating the wind into her hand and now holding a rapier which she pointed at him. He just smiled.

"Please, don't insult me. You must be new if you don't know who I am. I'm the commander of Rize City's NES team! Shota Akihiko, codename Reaper!" He said, twirling the scythe in his hand, cutting the arrow as he did so, and bringing the blade down in front of him. "Now how about you tell me your name."

"I am Garuda the Gale! And yes I have heard of you, just never had the pleasure of fighting you!" She said, almost as if she was enjoying the fight. She rushed at him thrusting her rapier at his chest, but he easily blocked it with an upward swing of his scythe. He spun around and swung the blade three times in succession at Gale, missing each strike, but suddenly pulls out the gun and fires with a bang that had the equivalent of a small explosion and a blast to match it, hitting her in the chest and sending her flying back into the fence. Once she regained her composure, she disappeared in a flash and reappeared above him , stabbing rapidly from the air as she descended. Shota dodged just in time only to find her right next to him and stab him in the arm and pinning him down into the ground as the bloody blade sunk into the ground. She raised her other hand and the wind formed a spear.

"I must admit... I am slightly disappointed. I was expecting more from one of the Origins... even if your powers are supressed in the real world." She said, bringing the spear down towards his throat, but it was knocked out of her hand by an energy blast coming from the house. Both Gale and Shota looked over to see the source of the attack: a man in midnight black armor pointing a single blaster at Gale, red scarf flowing in the wind.

"That's enough! I will be your opponent now!"


	2. Chapter 2

**This will be a short chapter. Work has picked up quite a bit and I have had little time to work on this lately... It should be slowing down significantly soon and I will be able to post more as it does.**

 **Chapter II - The Black Knight**

Shiroji just stood there, still pointing his blaster at Gale. Just his stare alone was enough to send a chill down Gale's spine.

"Well now, who do we have here?" Gale said, turning to Reaper, who was still pinned to the ground by Gale's rapier. "Friend of yours?"

"Never saw him before..." Reaper replied, also staring at Shiroji. He had never seen a Seeker like him before, but he was pretty sure that he wasn't registered in the NES database, at least not for Rize City. Shiroji reholstered his blaster and started walking toward them. Reaper looked up at Gale, who was staring at her new foe with what looked like a mixture of intrigue and smugness. Wind started gathering in her slightly outstretched hand to form another weapon only to have the wind dispersed by another shot from Shiroji's blaster.

"Don't even bother." He told her, stopping about fifteen feet away from Gale and Reaper, reholstering his blaster once again. "Your weapons won't have any effect on me." The last phrase seemed to strike a nerve as Gale's expression changed to that of pure anger.

"Is that so? Well let's see how true your statement is!" Gale shouted, raising both arms into the air, the wind forming what seemed to be arrows above her head. Shiroji only stood there, not intimidated in the slightest as he crossed his arms and just watched the arrows form. Once the arrows formed completely, she lowered her arms and all the arrows started raining down at him. Suddenly, as if he had known how to do it all along, he pulled out both blasters and shot all thirty arrows out of the sky before they even came close to him. Gale just held the pose, eyes wide with shock.

"Is that all?" Shiroji said said, reholstering his blasters.

"W-What did you say?!" Gale replied, all traces of confidence in her voice now replaced with fear.

"Is... that... all?" He repeated slowly, crossing his arms again. Gale was truly scared now. She was able to get the jump on Reaper with her Aeroforming ability, however it had little to no effect on the opponent before her. In an act of desperation, she pulled the rapier out of the ground and Reaper's arm, causing him to shout in pain, and rushed at Shiroji with the tip of her weapon aimed at his throat. He sidestepped her and as she passed by him he punched her in the side, sending her flying through the fence and out to where the rest of the party guests were waiting and landing in the middle of the street, Shiroji following her through the broken section of the fence.

Everyone was backing away from the battle, all staring at Shiroji as he came into view. Gale tried to back away from him, fear overcoming her.

"Just what the hell are you?! WHO are you?!" She exclaimed, forming a barrier of energy around her. He just walked up to it and swung his arm at it, shattering it into tiny pieces. His right gauntlet began to glow with a black aura.

"My name is of no importance, for you won't be able to speak it once I'm through with you." He said, laying his glowing hand on her head. He slowly rose his hand from her head and what looked like a ghost started to rise from her body. Once the ghost was a few inches out, he clenched his fist as if grabbing the ghost and pulled hard, snatching the ghost from its body and tossing it aside. With Gale now out of Sierra's body, the transformation reversed and soon she returned to her normal form.

Now turning to the ghost, which solidified and became Gale, he unsheathed the shortsword. Before Gale could even so much as move a finger, Shiroji thrust the blade into her chest. With one final breath, she went limp and her body began to dissolve. Once it was gone, he resheathed the shortsword. Shiroji then went back to the back yard, stopping in front of Reaper, who had returned to his human form.

"I don't know who you are... but I do know that it was because of you that everyone is okay. For that, I thank you." Shota said, reaching an hand out in the friendly gesture of a hand shake, which Shiroji accepted.

"Of course. Be sure that everyone gets home safely." He said, turning around and once again walking towards the gap in the fence only to be stopped by Shota.

"Wait. I have to warn you. I have a good feeling that you're a rogue Seeker... If you are, please keep in mind that NES will pursue you. I'm sorry, but the law is the law and it states that all Seekers must be registered with NES. I'll let you go this time, but next time we may have to fight." Shota told him. Shiroji could see the honesty in his eyes and nodded his head. All Shiroji could ever think about was joining his dad in NES, however his father made it very clear a month ago that he didn't want Shiroji to join the force.

"Yes, I admit that I am unregistered, nor do I have any intention of joining." Shiroji told Shota as he walked back towards the crowd. Shota stopped him once again in the middle of the crowd. "I hope that you aren't thinking of trying to take me down to NES headquarters in that condition." He warned, however Shota just shook his head.

"I know better than that... I was just hoping to catch your name."

"Sorry, I can't do that."

"I was referring to your codename." Shiroji just stood there staring at everyone, who were watching him expectantly. Apparently his father wasn't the only one who wanted a name from him. He tried to think of a codename on the spot, but nothing came to mind. Finally, he remembered the code on his ParCon: 007-M3G4.

 _M3G4... Mega... Hmm, I wonder... That and my black armor... Yes I think I will try that._ He thought to himself as he looked into Shota's eyes, ready with an answer.

"I am the Black Knight, Mega Man." Shiroji stated loud enough for everyone to hear, then he jumped over everyone and ran for the park where his brother died. There he stared at the scarred bark of the oak tree, removing his helmet and revealing his face. For a couple minutes, he just stood there.

"I swear Kizuru! I will continue where you left off. I may not be able to become a Seeker officially, but I will do what I can to protect the people of Rize City in your stead... as Mega Man." He said, putting his helmet back on and jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he made his way back to his house. Shiroji couldn't help but notice all the power he had gotten just from Shifting. Although he never really had any training in combat, except a few lessons from his father to learn how to defend himself, he moved like an expert and everything he did today was like second nature to him. He eventually came to the conclusion that the ParCon had something to do with it and decided that he would investigate it further when he got the chance. Once he got home, he snuck into his room through the window and Shifted back into his normal form, and just in time too as his door was flung open and his sister flung her arms around his neck.

"Oh thank God! Dad and I were looking EVERYWHERE for you!" She exclaimed, her face buried in his shoulder. At that moment their father walked in. Once Becky finally let go, Shiroji just looked at both of them.

"Sorry you guys... When I saw that nobody else was in the house, I left out the side door and ran home. I didn't really think about it at first, but once I got here I realized that I should have told one of you that I was going home. I'm sorry." He told them apologetically. Both of them forgave him and left him alone for the rest of the night, feeling that he needed some time to take in what happened.

After he got dressed into his pajamas, he crawled into bed and examined the ParCon, the code 007-M3G4 still flashing on the screen. Figuring that telling Becky and Dad that he was Mega Man would only cause problems, he decided to officialy keep it a secret. As he started to fall asleep, he thought that he should go see Sierra in the morning and make sure that she was okay.

"I did kinda leave without checking on her... I hope she isn't mad..." He sighed, rolling over and grabbing his headphones and placing them over his ears to listen to some music while he worked on his skate board. Pulling out his tool box from under his bed, he placed it on the night stand as he inspected the board. Some of the art work on it was getting scratched up. _I'll have to get some more polish and paint..._ He thought as he noticed his painting supplies were running low. Turning his attention to the wheels, he noticed that they were wearing down quite a bit.

"Time to replace these..." He said, grabbing a socket wrench and unscrewing the bolts that kept the wheels in place. Once loosened, he unscrewed them the rest of the way by hand and pulled off the wheels, chucking them in the trash as they have seen enough action. Grabbing some spares, he examined them for damage, smiling once he noticed that they were just like new, and put them on, screwing the bolts back into place. Once that was done, he was satisfied and put everything away.

As he rolled back over onto his bed, he pulled out the ParCon and looked at it, the screen now blank.

"Just what kind of secrets do you hold... And what are the consequences of figuring them out, I wonder..." He asked himself, staring at the ceiling until he finally started to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the delay. We've been short-handed at work and I've been working some insane hours between both of my jobs. Things are starting to calm down now and I will be updating more frequently.**

 **As an apology for the late update, I have worked all night long on two chapters for everyone. Hope everyone enjoys :)**

Chapter III - Dark Shot

Two weeks have passed since Shiroji first became Mega Man and he never felt more alive in his life! While he was Mega Man, he felt free and unrestrained. _So this is why my brother loved being a Seeker so much... I can't see why anyone wouldn't!_ Shiroji thought as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop to get to school. Every once in a while, someone would notice him and shout to him, usually a "Keep up the good work!" or "Thank you for keeping us safe!", and would either wave or give them a thumbs up.

Although, not everyone supported him and his efforts, since it was now common knowledge that he wasn't registered with NES and some considered him a vigilante, claiming that he only did what he did to outshine NES and Reaper. That was never his intention, however. All he ever tried to do ever since he saw first hand what happened when a nightmare turned Sierra into a Vibrant was prevent the same thing from happening to others by killing the nightmares before they could become strong enough to possess someone else.

Suddenly, he noticed Sierra walking down the road towards school and decided to jump down to say hey to her. Once he was mid jump toward the road, however, he realized that he was still Shifted and couldn't stop himself as he landed on one foot and knee right in front of her.

"Megaman?!" She said somewhat shocked from his sudden appearance. Shiroji stood up and faced her.

"I never got the chance to check to see if you were okay after you became a Vibrant." He replied, trying to act more serious than he normally does. "Are there any lasting effects?"

"No, I'm okay. It's nice to see that we have a Seeker who actually takes the time to see if the victim is okay. Most Seekers today are so fixated on followong their orders and protocall that they never even speak to you." She replied, looking down. Shiroji could understand where she was coming from. Aside from his father and his personal team, most of NES's Seekers care more about their rank than anything else and tend to be pretty stuck up because of it. "Although I guess that doesn't exactly apply to you, does it? Being a drifter and all..."

"Do I have to have a title in order to do what I know is the right thing?" Shiroji asks. "I do what I do not because I'm not bound to protocall but because I want to help make this world a better place. I want to see everyone smiling... I want to be somebody that everyone can believe in..." He then stares off into the sky, his scarf swaying in the breeze slightly. Sierra just smiled and walked closer to him, tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

"Sounds pretty cliche to me." She giggled, obviously teasing him. "Although, I'm glad that you are. We need true heroes like you, not these idiots that patrol in uniform just for show..." Sierra's fists clenched tight. Ever since her older sister, Jessica, started going out with his older brother, the two once close sisters became very distant. However it was the day that Jessica was killed in the explosion that sparked the flames of hatred within her, when Kizuru couldn't save Jessica. Since then the only Seeker she will even speak to is Shiroji's father. For her to talk to him while still Shifted, that was saying something.

"As much as I agree with you, I wouldn't call them idiots. They do work hard to protect us, even if the reasons are selfish." He retalliated. Her fists still tightened, showing that she won't give up her hatred so easily.

"Anyway, keep up the good work! It was nice talking to you!" Sierra shouted as she ran past him. After about two minutes of just staring off in the direction she was running, he snapped back to reality and jumped onto the roof of the nearest house and continued to school himself.

Once the school was in site, he jumped onto the roof so he could shift back into his normal form. As he was about to transform back, however, he heard screaming from inside the school. Not wasting time, he pulled out a blaster and ran down the stairs near him. As he rushed down the hallway, he continued to look for the source of the screaming, eventually finding it in his least favorite class: Miss Zanders' history class.

Once he got inside, he saw what appeared to be a red gargoyle pinning Miss Zanders against the wall by the throat. The school's Seekers were lying unconcious on the floor, one of them possibly dead. Taking careful aim, Shiroji shot at the gargoyle's arm, who shrieked in pain as he released Miss Zanders.

"How DARE you?! You pathetic little insect!" The gargoyle shouted. Shiroji didn't even reply as he shot it in the leg, then quickly reholstered the blaster and grabbed his shortsword and sliced its head off. Slowly the body transformed back into a student, head still attached to his shoulders. One good thing about Vibrants is that killing them won't kill their host unless they have been possessed for around an hour. As he resheathed his sword, he helped Miss Zanders up and walked her over to her desk.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed. Nodding, Shiroji was about to walk out when one of the school's Seekers grabbed his leg.

"Please... stop them... three more..." he managed before passing out again. Without a second thought, Shiroji ran through the door and started looking for the other Vibrants.

"Damn it! Where are they?!" He said, slamming his fist into a locker in frustration. Suddenly, something started flashing on his visor.

"HUNTER MODE ACTIVATED. TARGETS FOUND: THIRD FLOOR, EAST SIDE." said a computerized woman's voice as a miniature map of the school's third floor appeared on the left side of his visor, showing that all three of the Vibrants were in the same area. Running as fast as he could, he ran down the hall and rushed toward the East Wing, both blasters at the ready.

"BLASTER ENERGY RESERVE AT NINETY NINE PERCENT." The voice told him as he turned the corner to see all three of the Vibrants cornering seven students. Two of the Vibrants looked like the one he just killed. The one in the middle, which still looked like a gargoyle only a blue color, had six black feathered wings, a black horn on its head the size of Shiroji's forearm, and a tail that swept back and forth on the floor as it turned around to face him.

"Well now, if it isn't the infamous vigilante, Mega Man the Black Knight. It is truly an honor." The gargoyle said, bowing respectfully. "My name is Gasden the Dark Wing."

"Like I care! Release the students now!" Shiroji demanded, pointing both blasters at Gasden. However, he just laughed at Shiroji.

"You honestly believe that you will be able to best me with such insignificant weaponry?! Such foolishness. Destroy him!" Gasden shouted, pointing forward causing the two red gargoyles to attack him. Shiroji just smiled and tossed his blasters into the air and slashed at both gargoyles in the stomach, sheathed his sword and caught the blasters and trained them on Gasden once again.

"I'm not going to say it again, damn it! Release them!" Shiroji shouted. Once again, Gasden laughed.

"You may have some skills, boy, but you are still no match for me!" He said, rushing at Shiroji and punching him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to fall to his knees. Gasden then followed up by pushing Shiroji by the head and slamming him head-first through a wall. Gasden then pulled him out of the wall and tossed him down the hallway. As he got up, Shiroji noticed that Gasden was rushing straight at him, so he fired a barrage of bullets at him, only to have every shot dodged.

"BLASTER ENERGY RESERVE AT SEVENTY THREE PERCENT." The voice told him as he switched to his shortsword and slashed at Gasden, finally managing to hurt him with a cut on his arm.

"Not bad, boy... not bad... but let's see how you handle THIS!" Gasden said as he shot two lasers out of his eyes at him, piercing his left shoulder. With a yell of agony, Shiroji drops his sword, which Gasden walks up and grabs, pointing it at him. "Done already? I'm disappointed..." Gasden said as he pulled the sword back, ready to stab Shiroji through the chest. "Good bye, Black Knight!"

As he attempted to stab him, however, one of the students ran up to Gasden and swings his backpack at him, knocking him to the side. "Leave him alone, you bastard!" The boy shouted, but Gasden grabs him up and tosses him back to where the other students are.

"Such a pity! I was going to recruit you all, however your friend here just signed your death certificates!" Gasden said furiously, his eyes glowing for another eye laser attack.

Shiroji gets to his feet and aims his blasters ar Gasden, his left hand shaking slightly from the pain in his shoulder.

"ACCESSING SPECIAL TECHNIQUES ARCHIVE. TECHNIQUE 01 UNLOCKED." The voice told him and as if the information was planted into his brain, he crosses his outstretched arms and holds the blasters sideways, the barrel of each gun away from and parallel to each other. Suddenly a black and violet energy starts charging in between the two guns. Once the energy was at its maximum level, Shiroji shouted, "DARK SHOT!" and pulled both triggers and sending a giant blast of violet energy at Gasden. The blast was so big that he was unable to dodge it and took the full force of it. Once the dust cleared, Gasden was on the floor, his body from the left shoulder to the left waist was completely gone and spewing blood.

"Damn... you..." Gasden grunted, obviously weak from the attack. Shiroji walked up to him and, with his right hand glowing again, he ripped Gasden from the body, which healed itself instantly and turned back into a blue-haired boy. He grabbed his sword out of the boy's hand and stabbed Gasden, causing him to dissolve like Gale. He turned to the students.

"You should get them to the school clinic." Shiroji told the students, who thanked him and carried the three unconcious students down the hall. Once they were gone, Shiroji checked to see of there was anyone else around. Realizing he was alone, he Shifted back into his original form and checked his watch.

"Whew... Just in time for Homeroom!" He said, running to his class and pocketing the ParCon. As he sat down for attendance, he couldn't help but think of that Dark Shot attack. _It's possibly the most powerful attack I have... Although when I used it, it drained my blasters' reserves by thirty percent, which means I can use it only three times at the most per Shift... I'll have to be careful whenever I use it._ He thought to himself, raising his hand as his homeroom teacher called his name.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV: Corruption

Not even five minutes after attendance was taken, Principal Roswell's voice sounded over the intercom to gather all of the students in the courtyard and that school was cancelled due to the attack. Walking down the hall, he meets up with Sierra, who seemed distracted and almost walked into the trophy case when he pulled her away from it.

"You okay, Sierra?" Shiroji asked her, concerned. She shook her head and looked up at him, smiling.

"I'm okay. I was just thinking about something was all."

"What about? The incident where you turned into a Vibrant?" He asked innocently.

"No... Not that... I was thinking about Mega Man actually. I saw him on the way to school." She replied, making Shiroji skip a heartbeat.

"Really? He never really talks to anyone except to make sure they were okay... What did you two talk about?" Shiroji asked, knowing full well what they talked about this morning.

"Well, he DID ask if I was okay from the incident at my birthday party... Then we got to talking about the other Seekers... Funny part is that he agrees with me. Well, for the most part anyway."

"I'm just surprised that you actually TALKED to him... You're the most anti-Seeker person I know." He said teasingly, poking her in the side making her pull away slightly and giggle while she playfully smacked him in the stomach. With that little touch, however, he winced and buckled slightly, causing Sierra to worry.

"Are you okay?!" She said, lifting up his shirt revealing a rather nasty bruise. "Shiroji! What the hell happened to you?!"

"It's nothing." He told her, blushing slightly and putting his shirt back down. "I ran into one of the Vibrants this morning and one of them attacked me when Mega Man came and saved me. I'm okay though." She began to protest and lift his shirt again to inspect the bruise when he insisted that he was fine. Still not convinced, they both walked to the courtyard.

Once they were all outside, everyone started whispering and muttering to each other, pointing towards three big white trucks, each accompanied by two Seekers in uniform, and Principal Roswell talking to someone in a dark blue jacket with white shoulder pads, cuffs and gloves. On the chest of his jacket was a golden star with wings, indicating that he was ranked as a commanding officer of NES.

About a few minutes later, someone came and tapped Shiroji on this right shoulder. As he turned around, the first thing he noticed was the guitar case strapped to his back and his loud blue shoulder-length hair and matching blue eyes. If the hair and guitar wasn't loud enough for you, he also wore a black leather jacket and skin-tight black jeans and combat boots with a chain around his waist.

"Shiro! Wazzup brotha?!" The boy said in a heavy northern accent, raising a hand in the air to high-five him, which Shiroji happily returned.

"Hey Zack! What's up bro?!" He asked him, nodding his head toward the principal and the Seekers. Zack just shook his head.

"Nothin' good bro... nothin' good. They won't let anybody leave until they questioned all of us! They think that the attack was planned!" Zack replied, obviously pissed off.

"Why in the hell would they think we PLANNED this?!" Sierra replied, possibly more pissed off than Zack. "I mean, sure... we get the idiots who start the bomb scares and stuff... but NOBODY would go so far as to try and LET themselves become Vibrants! I swear these guys are just a bunch of asshats who are just looking for a promotion!" Shiroji had to try and calm her down before the Seekers started to notice.

"Sierra, I understand that you're upset, but you need to relax!" He told her, grabbing both of her shoulders. She was still upset, however she knew he was right and started to calm down slightly. Once he let go of her, he couldn't help but notice Zack shaking his head and smiling.

"Man, she's gotta fire in her bro! You might get burned one day if you're not careful!" He said teasingly, but got a playful punch to the shoulder by Sierra in the process.

"Shut up, Zack!" She said playfully. "Why do you always got to be such a punk?" Zack was about to reply when Principal Roswell started speaking over the courtyard's speaker system.

"Good morning students and staff! As you all know, the school was attacked by four Vibrants this morning. Due to these events, NES has dispatched an investigation team to collect information. If anyone has any information on the attack, please step forward. The rest of you will be escorted to the auditorium where a movie will be played for you while you wait for the investigation to end." With that announcement about thirty or so students, along with Miss Zanders, himself and Sierra, walked up to the principal and waited while the rest of them followed the teachers into the auditorium.

"Why are you coming too?" Shiroji asked Sierra, who looked up at him.

"I was in Miss Zanders' classroom when one of the Vibrants attacked..." She admitted. Once again, his heart skipped a beat as he realized that she actually saw him fight. Now that they were gathered around the principal, he put down the microphone and started counting.

"Okay, there are thirty seven of you. Now allow me to introduce you to First Lieutenant Joshua Avery of NES's Investigation Team." The principal said as he allowed the man in the dark blue jacket to take the stand.

"Thank you Mr. Roswell. I am here to collect information from you all and investigate the crime scenes. I want you to tell me every little detail that you can about the attack, down to what the Vibrants looked like and their behavior. Any information you can provide will be a great help in our case and will help things move along quickly so we can send you all home." As he spoke, Shiroji couldn't help but take in the rest of the man's appearance. He had long black hair that reached his middle back, red eyes and wore glasses. On his face was a scar that stretched from his left ear to the center of his left cheek. He looked friendly enough from his voice, but for some odd reason Shiroji didn't trust him...

As the questioning began, Shiroji was the first to talk to Joshua while Sierra waited in line behind him with five others, the rest of them split up among the other Seekers. Joshua's friendly demeanor from earlier suddenly vanished as he questioned Shiroji.

"Okay then, let's start with where you were during the attack." He asked sternly.

"I was on the third floor of the east wing, coming out of the bathroom when I was attacked by one of theVibrants." Shiroji replied.

"What did he look like?" Johsua asked. Once Shiroji gave an accurate description of the red Vibrants, Joshua nodded his head as if believing him. "Okay, what about the blue one I heard about from the principal? I was told that he was calling the shots."

"I don't know. I didn't see him. Once Mega Man stopped the one Vi-" Shiroji started, but suddenly Joshua became more serious.

"You said Mega Man was there?! Where is he now?!" Joshua asked him, a hint of what seemed to be desperation now in his voice.

"I wouldn't know... he left as soon as he st-" Shiroji began, however he was once again interrupted.

"Don't lie to me! He MUST still be here!"

"I don't know! He left as soon as he saved me!" Shiroji replied angrily, now starting to dislike the first lieutenant who was now readjusting his glasses that were falling down his nose and sighed.

"Okay then... You may go..." He told Shiroji, who wasted no time in trying to get away from him, but stayed in case Sierra was given similar trouble. _Why in the hell was he so worked up over trying to find Mega Man? I mean, I know I'm technically a vigilante, but he seemed like he was_ obsessed _with finding Mega Man, not just interested..._ He thought to himself as he watched Sierra's interrogation begin to escalate as she mentioned Mega Man, even going so far as to grab her backpack and start going through it.

"HEY! What're you doing?! Give that back!" She shouted, reaching for her back pack. Joshua just pulled it out of her reach as he emptied its contents, including her phone, onto the ground to search for any clues that could lead him to Mega Man. Suddenly he picked up the phone and started going through what might have been recent contacts. Shiroji then pulled out his own phone and texted his dad:

 _Hey Dad... I know it's your day off and all, but I think you need to come to the school... one of the Seekers assigned here for the attack is starting to get a little crazy..._

About a minute later, he recieved a reply:

 _I'm already on my way. One of the other Seekers there already contacted me. I'll be there shortly._

As he began to reply, Joshua noticed him and started walking over to him, his hand out stretched as he made a grab for his phone. Once he managed to get it from him, however, he was furious to find that Shiroji had locked it before it was taken.

"Unlock it!" Joshua demanded.

"No, I think I won't actually!" He replied.

"You were talking to Mega Man, weren't you?!" He asked, the obsession apparent in his voice.

"No I wasn't! Now get the hell away from me!" He said, trying to get away only to be grabbed by the wrist.

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS!" He shouted, scaring the other students. Suddenly, Sierra hit him in the arm with her back pack.

"Leave him alone you jerk! He told you he didn't know anything!" She shouted, the rage written all over her face. Suddenly, he turned around and grabbed her up by the collar of her shirt.

"How DARE you attack an officer of NES?! I could arrest you right now for assault!" He said, lifting her into the air. Suddenly he saw the one thing that he never wanted to see: Sierra was crying.

"LET GO OF HER YOU BASTARD!" Shiorji shouted, rushing at Joshua with a fist drawn back and ready to strike. He knew it was a bad idea, but it was too late as he swung and hit him in the face, knocking his glasses off and causing him to let go of Sierra. Enraged, Joshua grabbed Shiroji by the wrist, his fist drawn back.

"You insolent little brat!" Joshua exclaimed, his expression one of malice and insanity. It was enough to scare anyone.

"Let go of me!" Shiroji snapped, trying to rip his arm from Joshua's grasp only to have the grip tightened. It hurt so much that he felt it would snap if he continued to resist.

"Time to show you some manners!" Joshua told him as he raised him by the arm off the ground. Before he could do anything else, however, Zack jumps onto Joshua's back and puts him in a choke hold, making him release Shiroji.

"Shiroji! Go call your dad!" Sierra shouted, grabbing Joshua by the leg to stop him from advancing on Shiroji.

Outraged, he looked for somewhere he couldn't be seen. Suddenly he spotted the circuit shed for the courtyard's speaker system and, making sure everyone's attention was off of him, he ran for the shed, pulled out the ParCon, and held it in front of him.

"Shift! M3G4!" he said, pressing the button and was suddenly engulfed in the dark aura once again and emerging as Mega Man. Once he was transformed, he walked out of the shed and, with a burst of speed, he jumped over the others and stood in front of Joshua, who had somehow managed to get Zack off of him and had him suspended in the air by the strap of his guitar case. Sierra was being held back by two of her friends.

"That's enough!" Shiroji told him, making him let go of Zack. Joshua's face twisted into a maniacal grin.

"So you finally showed up, have you?! Now I can take you in for attacking the school!" He said triumphantly. Shiroji just glared at him.

"I had nothing to do with those attacks. In fact, I was the one who prevented them. Now let these children go home and I will personally share everything I know with you." Joshua didn't seem to hear him.

"Yeah, like I'm going to believe a vigilante who wants to play hero! Now hold your arms out so I can take you in!" He said, pulling out his hand cuffs. "Or would you rather do this the hard way?" He asked, raising his left arm with a red ParCon on his wrist. "Either way is fine with me! I'll finally be promoted to Colonel if I can bring YOU in!"

"THAT'S what you're after?!" Sierra shouted, tears of rage in her eyes. "You treat us like dirt and manhandle us just for a PROMOTION?! You make me sick!" She seemed to strike a nerve as Joshua activated his ParCon.

"Shift! Volcanus!" Suddenly Joshua was wrapped in flames, which slowly took the shape of Joshua's body and started forming an orange bodysuit with red boots and gauntlets, both were still on fire. A red helmet with a yellow crown formed on his head with an orange gem on the center of the crown and a yellow visor covering his eyes. Aside from his boots, gauntlets and helmet, he had no other forms of armor except a belt that held two revolver-styled blasters and a large battle axe on his back.

Suddenly, he makes a rush for Sierra and tries to grab her, but Mega Man pulls her into his arms and jumps away. He looks down at her and notices her blushing as he held her close to him to protect her. Once he landed, he set her down next to Miss Zanders, who understood what he wanted her to do right away and, along with Principal Roswell, directed the students away from the courtyard's square. Shiroji then looked up at Volcanus.

"Are you so twisted that you would hurt a defenseless girl?!" Shiroji shouted, his rage only intensifying as he saw Volcanus laugh.

"My only goal is to bring you in! I will do whatever it takes to do so!" He said, grabbing his axe and swinging it off of his back. "Even if I have to take a hostage or two to make you cooperate!" Suddenly he rushed at Shiroji, who jumped over him and kicked Volcanus square in the back to jump away. He had no intention of harming a Seeker if he could avoid it. Once again, Volcanus charged at him, only this time he was sidestepped and had to quickly turn on the spot to swing his axe at him, only to have Shiroji jump up and stomp down on the blade of the axe to catch him off guard and push him back.

"Don't make me have to hurt you, Volcanus. I have no intentions of fighting you and neither should you!" Shiroji told him, still holding a defensive stance. Like clockwork, Volcanus rushed at him again. Once again, Shiroji dodged him only to find that Volcanus wasn't stopping and was rushing at the other students. Finding no other solution, he rushes at Volcanus as fast as he could, pulling both blasters out of their holsters.

"ACCESSING SPECIAL TECHNIQUES ARCHIVE. TECHNIQUE 04 UNLOCKED!" The voice told him as he shot ten bullets, each just hovering in front of him in a circle as he rushed to catch up to Volcanus. He brought his arms forward.

"Synchro Shot!" He shouted, swinging his arms to the side, causing the ten bullets to spread out and attack all at once as each shot made their marks: two in the back, one on each leg, one on each arm, three more in the chest and the last one in the back of the head. Volcanus hit the ground hard as he yelled in pain, clutching his body and writhing on the ground. Reholstering his blasters, he stopped and grabbed Volcanus by the foot, then swung him away from the crowd. As he turned around to make sure everyone got inside okay, he heard the sound of a flame igniting and turned around to find Volcanus just feet above him, his axe on fire. There wasn't enough time to retalliate.

Suddenly, there was what sounded like cannonfire and Volcanus was sent flying into one of the statues in the courtyard. Looking in the direction the attack came from, he sees Reaper, his three barrelled gun in one hand and his scythe in the other.

"Joshua! What is the meaning of this?!" Reaper shouted, obviously angry. Volcanus slowly got up and grabbed his axe again, as well as one of this blasters.

"What're you doing here, Reaper?! You're supposed to be off today!"

"I got a text from my son stating that you were mistreating the students."

"Well he was lying to you then! I'm only transformed because Mega Man attacked me!" Everyone, including two of the other Seekers, were objecting to the statement and were backing up Mega Man. Reaper only laughed.

"Joshua... even if they weren't backing him up... I still wouldn't believe you..." Reaper told him, walking over to Mega Man. "For one, I've seen Mega Man in action and he would never start an unneccessary fight. Secondly, my son would NEVER lie to me!" he shouted, rushing at Volcanus and engaging in the fight with him. It was an amazing site to behold as he watched Reaper wield the scythe one handed as he swung at Volcanus and fired his gun whenever he saw an opening. Volcanus was obviously scared now and split the axe down the middle to create two single-bladed battle axes and attacked once again. The scary part wasn't the fact that Volcanus looked terrifying as he swung his weapons in his rage... but the fact that Reaper was _smiling_!

Reaper found an opening and kicked Volcanus away, and raised his scythe in the air. "Dread Scythe!" He shouted, swinging the scythe down, sending a shokwave in its wake that hit Volcanus in the chest. Reaper suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Volcanus and kicked him again and rushed after him.

"Death Star!" He shouted, grabbing Volcanus and throwing him to the ground, then followed up with a combo so fast that it left a five pointed star pattern of energy in its wake as he attacked him. Volcanus then Shifted back into his human form and stared in rage at Reaper, who walked up to him and snatched the golden star off of Joshua's jacket.

"You won't be needing this anymore. Effective immedeately, you are hereby demoted to Second Lieutenant and are relieved of your command! Now you and your team will return to headquarters and I will be there shortly to fill out the report." He said, loud enough for everyone to hear. As he walked over to Mega Man, he held a hand out in the friendly gesture of an handshake. Shiroji was hesitant on this.

"I wanted to apologize for my colleague's behavior. I assure you that the appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken, including some jail time, for his actions." He told Shiroji, still holding his hand out. After a moment, he shook Reaper's hand, causing the crowd behind them to clap. Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind, shocking him a bit. Once he realized who it was, however, he was glad that he had a helmet that covered his entire face because he could feel his face growing hot from how red it must be as Sierra was hugging him.

"Thank you so much! I was so scared!" She told him, tears still in her eyes.

"I-It was nothing!" Shiroji replied, trying to sound calm and collected as he scratched the back of his head only to press a button accidentally, making the lower part of his helmet split down the middle and part towards each side of his face to reveal the lower part of his face.

"You know... I think you look better without the helmet closed like it was..." She said, turning him to face her. "It makes it easier..." She was inching her face towards his, blushing as much as he was. "to thank you properly..." and everyone gasped at what happened next, including Reaper.

She kissed him on the cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V: Madness

Everything was silent as Sierra kissed Mega Man, whose face was scarlet. As she ended the kiss, Shiroji noticed that she was also blushing. Suddenly, as if she snapped out of a trance, her eyes widened and turned just as red as he was.

"I-I don't know what came over me! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, turning redder by the minute. At this time, all of the students were whistling and whooping at them. Shiroji, still in shock, remained speechless. "Please don't think poorly of me for this!"

"I... um..." Was all Shiroji could manage to say when Reaper walked up to him, laughing.

"Although I wouldn't kiss you, I definitely agree on leaving your helmet open every once in a while." Reaper teased, making the students laugh. "But in all seriousness, I think it's about time everyone went home." Slowly, the students all went to their lockers and collected their backpacks, Shiroji and Reaper still standing together in the courtyard with a rather enraged but beaten Joshua. Reaper shot a glare over to Joshua. "I thought I told you to return to base! Do you want to make things worse on you than it has to be?!" Reaper shouted, still glaring at Joshua. He didn't speak, nor did his rage dissipate, as he slowly got to his feet and started to walk toward the school's main gate, stopping once he got there.

"Mega Man! This is FAR from over! I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!" Joshua yelled as he pulled out his ParCon. Suddenly, Reaper rushed after Joshua.

"Joshua DON'T! If you Shift now you won't be stable!" Reaper cried out, but it was too late...

"SHIFT! VOLCANUS!" Joshua screamed, becoming engulfed in flames and emerging as Volcanus, his wounds from the fight with both Mega Man and Reaper returned almost instantly causing him to buckle at the knees he recovered, he raised his left hand to his side, his arm outstretched, and began to gather energy into his palm.

"You're not seriously thinking about entering the Dreamscape, are you?! In your current condition, you won't last two minutes in there!" Reaper shouted, concern in his voice as he closed in on Volcanus with Mega Man close behind him. However, with a burst of light the portal opened to the Dreamscape and Volcanus walked through it, the portal closing behind him. Reaper stopped right where Volcanus just was and, to Shiroji's amazement, Shifted back into Shota. "Damn it, Joshua!" Shota cried, tears falling from his face and onto the pavement. He then looked to the sky. "Kizuru... Forgive me..."

"Reaper... Don't blame yourself." Shiroji said, resting his hand on Shota's shoulder. "Neither of us would have ever guessed that his madness would lead him to enter the Dreamscape in his current condition... It's not your fault."

"I know... but I promised my son I would look after Joshua..." Shota suddenly got quiet as he looked up into Shiroji's face.

"Your son... you mean Shiroji?" Shiroji asked, knowing full well that he wasn't who his father was talking about.

"No... my other son, Kizuru... who was killed in action five months ago. He was my partner, as well as Joshua's best friend and rival at NES." Shota explained as he turned to look where the portal to the Dreamscape was only minutes ago. "He wasn't always like this... He used to be such a good guy... I can't believe how much he's changed since Kizuru died." Suddenly, Shota looked as if something smacked him in the face. "Wait a minute... how do you know my son's name?!" He asked Shiroji, making him feel as if there was a pit in his stomach. Thinking quickly, he told a story on the spot.

"He introduced himself to me during the incident when we first met. We happened to cross paths along the way." He lied, hoping that Shota would buy it. Shiroji breathed with relief when Shota nodded slightly, seemingly buying the story, however Shiroji felt that he didn't believe him completely.

"I hate to cut the discussion short, Reaper... but shouldn't we go after him?" Shiroji suggested, but was surprised when Shota shook his head.

"Sadly, I can't... The only downside to my power is that, unless I'm in the Dreamscape, I can only remain in Shift form for thirty minutes at a time due to a Limiter Program that I haven't been able to completely remove yet. All of the Origins' ParCons have it. It used to be only twenty minutes, but I managed to break the program's code a bit and push the limit to thirty minutes." Shota replied grimly. With this bit of news, Shiroji started to worry. _This is bad! I don't know how to open the portal yet and Dad is powerless right now... and Joshua won't last much longer... Damn it! What should I do?!_ Shiroji thought as he tried to come up with a solution. Thinking about how Joshua summoned the portal, Shiroji raised his hand in front of him and tried to focus as hard as he could in opening a protal himself, however nothing happened.

"Damn it! How do you open the portal, Reaper? I'll go get him." Shiroji asked only to see Shota shake his head.

"The only way you can open a portal to the Dreamscape is if you are an officer-ranked Seeker. The Vibes and Nightmares in the Dreamscape are ten times as powerful as they would be here, which is why they tend to possess people so they can use the life force of their host as a catalyst to use their full power here. Due to this, low ranking Seekers cannot enter the Dreamscape unless accompanied by an officer. Since you aren't with NES, you can't open one." Shota explained.

"So there's nothing we can do?!" Shiroji exclaimed, swearing when Shota shook his head once again. Getting up, Shota pulls a small clear sheet with a cd in it and hands it to Shiroji.

"Here. This will come in handy for later down the road. It's a Seeker's best friend." Shota told him.

"What is it?" Shiroji asked, staring at the disk.

"It's a customization program for your ParCon: the PACS."

"PACS?"

"Particle Alteration and Customization System. You can use it to modify your Shift Form's functions and equipment. I owed you for saving me from Gale, so I figured that I would give you one of these. Don't worry, I took the liberty of removing the Tracer function from it so you can't be found." Shota said, winking. "To use it, simply place the cd in the disk drive of your ParCon and plug the ParCon into your computer or phone."

"Thank you, Reaper. I'm sure it will be put to good use." Shiroji stated, sticking the cd into his chest armor.

"Just remember that you didn't get it from me." Shota replied, winking again. "Anyway, we should be heading out. I have to call in a rescue team so we can find Joshua and bring him back before he gets himself killed." With that, Shota pulled out his phone and started walking away from the school. Figuring that now would be a better time than ever, he jumps to the roof of the school and Shifts back into his human form. Once he collected his stuff from his homeroom classroom, he searches for Sierra and Zach. Asking around for them, he finds out that they have already left and went home, so he decided that he would call them later to let them know that he was alright. After he made absolutely sure that they weren't at school, he left and went home.

Three days after the incident at the school, there was still no sign of Joshua and Shota has been working around the clock, even sleeping in his office apparently since he hasn't been home since the school incident. Although Becky was there all the time, the two of them never really hung out so he tended to just stay in his room and listen to music. Boredom now overtaking him, he glanced over at his nightstand and remembered the PACS disk that his father gave him. Curiosity overcoming him, he decided to pull out his ParCon, insert the disc, and plug it into his laptop. Almost instantly, the PACS system booted up.

Along the left edge of his screen was a guage with the word "Memory" above it, which was about sixty percent full. Below the guage, it told him how much memory was currently used alongside his Shift Form's maximum data capacity. Currently, his maximum was one gigabyte and six hundred and five megabytes were currently used. Next to the guage was a rotating model of Mega Man, complete with weapons. Along the right edge of the screeen was a list of the programs currently in use, such as his Shift form, his blasters, his shortsword, the energy reserve for his blasters, and the operating system for his helmet, each program gave a brief description of its functions and how much memory each program took up. In the top right corner, he saw a box with the number fifty nine in it with the word "Fragments" to the left of it. Finally, there was the workspace of the program where he would create and/or install new programs for his ParCon.

For about an hour, he fiddled with the PACS to get a better understanding of how it worked. Eventually he got the hang of it and learned that the fragments were used to create new programs. The more advanced the program or equipment, the more fragments required. However, he had no idea how to find these fragments and figured he would do some more research on it later as he closed the laptop and got ready for bed.

As soon as he started to fall asleep, however, Shiroji hears an explosion from outside and runs to his window to find the neighbor's house on fire. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Shiroji! Hurry we got to get out of here!" Becky shouted through the door.

"I know! I'm geting dressed! I'll be right behind you! Call the fire department and get going!" Shiroji replied as he unplugged his ParCon, opened his window and jumped out of it.

"Shift! M3G4!" Shiroji shouted, transforming into Mega Man and, using the new Air Dash program he installed, flew into the burning house. Shiroji immediately used the Barrier program to keep the flames at bay as he searched the house for his neighbors. After searching the whole house, he was relieved to find that nobody was inside. As he made his way to the back door, however, he saw the last person he was expecting to meet standing at the door: Volcanus.

"So... We meet again! I figured setting this house on fire would get your attention... Guess I was right." Volcanus told Shiroji with a twisted grin on his face.

"You destroyed someone's home... just to lure me out?! Are you insane?!" Shiroji demanded, only to get a maniacal laugh in return.

"Insane? Hardly... Determined is more like it. You and Reaper made a fool out of me... and I WILL see that you two pay for it... Starting with you!" Volcanus explained, opening a portal to the Dreamscape.

"You made a fool out of yourself, you lunatic!" Shiroji retalliated, aiming his blasters at Volcanus, however Volcanus merely chuckled.

"As much as I want to completely and utterly destroy you, I won't be fighing you here. Take the cd on the counter over there." Volcanus instructed, pointing towards a cd cloaked in a barrier. "That will grant you access to the Dreamscape. I won't be needing it anymore. I'll be expecting you tomorrow afternoon at noon in the park. Enter the Dreamscape and I will be waiting for you there. Oh, by the way... for each hour that passes and you don't show up... I will destroy someone else's home, and this time I will make sure that they are inside it when it happens!" With those words, and a maniacal laugh, he walks through the portal, closing it behind him.

"Damn it!" Shiroji swore, picking up the cd and running outside to the street where the firefighters were already attempting to put the fire out. Suddenly, he sees Becky sitting on the back of one of the fire trucks. Once she spots him, she starts to walk over to him, only to have a portal open up behind her and Volcanus grabs her by the arm, making her scream.

"LET HER GO VOLCANUS!" Shiroji shouted, pointing his blasters at him.

"Consider her your insentive to come and fight me. If you are even a minute too late, I will burn her alive!"

"You bastard! How much lower will you go?!"

"Tomorrow at noon, Mega Man! BE THERE!" Volcanus yells, pulling Becky into the portal with him. Not wasting any time, he runs to his room and transforms back into his normal form and plugs the ParCon into his laptop and installs the portal's codes so he can enter the Dreamscape. However, he found that he could not activate it until eleven in the morning, obviously to prevent him from sneaking in and taking back Becky.

"Hang in there Becky... I'm gonna bring you back home! I promise!" Shiroji swore, grabbing his ParCon and holding it to his chest as he looked out the window. Deciding that it would be wise to get some rest for tomorrow he goes to bed, only to find that his worry was keeping him awake. Eventually he does fall into an uneasy sleep filled with dreams of Becky being burnt alive and even becoming a Vibrant...

Waking up to his alarm, which was set for eleven a.m., he grabs his ParCon and Shifts into Mega Man and rushes for the park. Once there, he activates the Portal program and opens the way to the Dreamscape. Once it was stable, he walked through it and entered the Dreamscape for the first time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI: Volcan Ifrit

As Shiroji entered the Dreamscape, he started searching the landscape for any sign of Volcanus. Everything in the Dreamscape looked similar to the real world, only everything looked like it was made from ceramic clay and glass and had paint splashed all over it. It all looked so fragile, however when he shot one of the trees, it didn't shatter like he thought it would.

"So this is the Dreamscape... Always wondered what it would look like... Wasn't expecting this, though." Shiroji said to himself as he walked around the park, checking the time as he did. It was eleven forty five. "Okay Volcanus! I'm here! Now show yourself!" Shiroji shouted, turning on the spot for any sign of the flame elemented Seeker. Suddenly, a wall of fire rose from the ground and surrounded the entire park. In front of him, a ball of flame formed and from it emerged Volcanus, who was holding an unconcious Becky under his arm. The sight of Becky being unconcious infuriated him beyond belief.

"What have you done to her, dammit?!" Shiroji asked, only to have Volcanus stare at him with that twisted grin on his face. His rage building, he pulled out his blasters and trained them at Volcanus's head. "ANSWER ME!" Shiroji demanded, making Volcanus laugh.

"I did absolutely nothing to the girl. If a human enters the Dreamscape and is not Shifted, they fall asleep almost instantly. Nobody understands why this happens, but it is the truth nonetheless." Volcanus replied. Shiroji lowered his blasters slightly and made an attempt to calm down, knowing that if he tried to fight in this state of mind he would make too many errors in his judgment when the inevitable fight broke out. Taking a few deep breaths, he felt his heart rate returning to normal.

"Volcanus, I did what you asked and came here. Now keep up your end of the bargain and let her go!" Shiroji shouted, however Volcanus only shook his head.

"You misunderstood me. I promised I wouldn't harm her so long as you met my demands. I said nothing about releasing her. The only way that will happen is if you defeat me right here and now!" Volcanus exclaimed, wrapping Becky in a sphere of fire and moving her outside of the wall of fire. "Don't worry, she won't be harmed. The vibes and nightmares will not attack her and the sphere is made from my Cool Flame, which only serves as a defense against attacks, a type of shield if you will." Knowing this made Shiroji relax slightly and allowed him to focus more on the task at hand.

"Volcanus, as much as I don't like you, I would rather avoid fighting you if I can help it. Now please, just go to Reaper. Believe it or not, he was worried about you when you entered the Dreamscape at the school. He's been looking for you non-stop." Shiroji explained, but Volcanus's temper seemed to return with the mention of Reaper.

"Reaper is a joke! He was the most powerful Seeker I knew! I looked up to him as an idol! But ever since his son died, he became a coward! He won't even take on another partner or even allow anyone to train to join his personal team! That was my _dream_ dammit, and now I will never get my chance to work alongside him! The Reaper I knew is long gone!" Volcanus raged, the flames surrounding the park intensifying.

"What would YOU do if someone you were extremely close to died, huh?!" Shiroji asked, seeming to finally get through to Volcanus as he calmed down slightly. As the flames died down, Shiroji saw something that he would least expect in this encounter; Volcanus had tears in his eyes!

"What I would do... is the wrong question to ask..." Volcanus replied, suddenly getting serious. "The REAL question you should ask.. is what I HAVE done!" Flames started to gather in a ring around Volcanus's feet. "I HAVE lost someone dear to me..." Now two more rings of fire formed to the right and left of him. "It's because of that loss that I try so hard to climb in rank..." Now a ring of fire formed over Volcanus's head. "I live for the BOTH of us, to realize _his_ dream as well as mine..." The rings left and right of him started spinning around him. Suddenly the rage returned in Volcanus's demeanor and voice.

"AND DEFEATING YOU AND BRINGING YOU IN WILL HELP ME ACHIEVE THAT DREAM!" Volcanus screamed as the four rings of fire merged into him. A pillar of red flame shot straight into the sky. Within the base of the pillar, Shiroji could see Volcanus's silhouette as it changed drastically. Suddenly the flames turned black as the pillar became wider. Finally, the flames dispersed and where Volcanus was once standing was now occupied by some kind of werewolf-like being with two horns on its head. It was wearing Volcanus's armor, however it was now a deep crimson and had two axe blades along both of his forearms and shins. He also gained chest armor, the same shade of crimson as the rest of his armor. The flames that spewed from his wrists and ankles were black like the pillar of flame that he emerged from. His hair, once covered by the helmet that he no longer wore, flowed freely down his back.

"What the hell?!" Shiroji exclaimed, staring at Volcanus as he completed his transformation and giving off a loud and powerful roar that caused the flames around the park to enclose them in a dome. "Volcanus, what in the hell did you do to yourself?!"

"Volcanus is no more..." He stated, his own voice now accompanied by another deep and raspy voice. "I am now Volcan Ifrit, master of the black flame!" As if to prove his title, the black flames from his wrists trailed behind his hands as he motioned them into a circle in front of him.

"WARNING! POWERFUL ADVERSARY APPROACHING! ACTIVATING EMERGENCY COMBAT MODE!" The operating system warned, flashing the word "WARNING" over and over in the top right of his visor as the lower part of his helmet closed to form the faceguard again and his left hand became a violet shadow-like claw that radiated black energy. His two blasters and right gauntlet dissolved and reformed into what appeared to be a sort of arm blaster along with armor that covered his whole left arm aside from his claw which matched the rest of his armor. Once the transformation was complete, the operating system spoke again. "EMERGENCY COMBAT MODE ENGAGED! GOOD LUCK, M3G4!"

Getting into his battle stance, Shiroji stares Volcan Ifrit down awaiting the slightest hint of an attack. "I don't know what kind of transformation this is... but it won't make any difference to me! I'll still bring you down... No, I HAVE to bring you down! That girl is depending on me!" Shiroji shouted, taking the initiative to shoot at Volcan Ifrit with his arm blaster. Just before it made contact Volcan Ifrit dodged it and shot a fireball at Shiroji, who shot through the attack only to find Volcan Ifrit rushing at him in the shadow of the fireball and punched him, sending him flying into a tree and dealing moderate damage.

"ACCESSING ECM TECHNIQUE ARCHIVES. TECHNIQUE 02 UNLOCKED!" The operating system stated as Shiroji automatically gained the knowledge to use the specified attack. Once he was on his feet, Volcan Ifrit was rushing back at him. Timing it just right, Shiroji jumped over him, then used Volcan Ifrit's back as a springboard of sorts to gain some distance. Once he was far enough away he charged energy into his claw, which started to glow sinisterly. As the energy level peaked, he dashed back at Volcan Ifrit with a speed that couldn't be seen with the naked eye, his claw behind him. "Deva Claw!" Shiroji shouted as he rushed past Volcan Ifrit, slashing him with his claw as he did and leaving five deep gashes in his arm where his claw made contact, the wound radiating the sinister energy from his claw.

Apparently enraged, Volcan Ifrit erupts into flame and attacks Shiroji head on, only to disappear a few feet from him and reappearing above him, his fist drawn back. "Blaze Impact!" Shiroji quickly sidesteps the attack, but as Volcan Ifrit punched the ground, a shockwave of black flame erupted from the point of impact and hit Shiroji in the chest, injuring him severely. As Volcan Ifrit recovered from his attack, he stared at Shiroji, laughing.

"Is this seriously the best you can do?! Or is it that I have truly become that much stronger?! Either way, this next attack will end this futile battle once and for all!" Volcan Ifrit declared, raising both arms above him and gathering the flames from the surrounding walls of fire and compressing them into an orb of energy. Once the flames stopped gathering, a ring of red light with a nine pointed star in the center formed in front of Volcan Ifrit. "ABYSSAL INFERNO!" Volcan Ifrit shouted as he brought the orb of flames down and into the center of the ring and from it emerged a massive blast of flames aimed right at Shiroji, who made no attempt to dodge the massive attack. Right before the impact however, Volcan Ifrit saw something that terrified him: Shiroji, although badly injured, _was smiling!_

The flames engulfed Shiroji, erasing all fear from Volcan Ifrit's mind as he stared at the twenty foot wide path of roaring flames in front of him. As he walked away towards Becky, he lowered the wall of flames, laughing to himself in victory. It was when he lowered the Cool Flame barrier from around Becky when he felt that something wasn't right. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain from the wound from Shiroji's Deva Claw and stared at it to find the sinister energy trailing away from him and towards where Shiroji was before the impact of the Abyssal Inferno.

"I-Impossible!" Volcanus Ifrit exclaimed as he stared wide-eyed as Shiroji emerged from the flames. His left arm had no armor on it and the body suit all the way across the left side of his chest was gone, along with half of his chest armor. His visor was cracked as well. All along his left arm were several burns that would have been much worse had he not have been Shifted at the time. Despite all of the damage he sustained, however, Shiroji was still smiling. "Just what the hell are you?!" Volcan Ifrit demanded, stepping away from Shiroji. "How did you survive?!" Shiroji just pointed at the wound on Volcanus Ifrit's arm, which was still connecting the two of them with the sinister energy.

"The Deva Claw has a nasty little side effect that allows me to drain energy from whoever is wounded by it for a short time. As long as it is active, I cannot die. Sadly, however, it seems that I can only use it once per Shift considering how much energy it takes to use it." Shiroji explained to a still wide-eyed Volcan Ifrit. "Don't worry, its effects should be wearing off right about now." Right on cue, the sinister energy faded from Volcan Ifrit's wound. "Let's finish this!" Shiroji shouted, disappearing in the blink of an eye with Volcan Ifrit retalliating in a similar fashion.

 **Meanwhile, in the Real World...**

"Commander Akihiko! Joshua's energy signature has been found!" Shouted a woman at a computer desk. With this news, Shota scrambled off the couch where the medical team insisted that he slept since he hasn't done so in the last few days out of stress that was plaguing him from the search for Joshua. As he ran over to the computer, which monitered all of the Seekers currently out in the Residential District of Rize City, he nearly knocked the woman out of her chair.

"Sorry about that, Anko." He apologized. "Just shocked is all."

"Honestly, you should be more careful!" Anko replied, readjusting her glasses as she moved closer to the computer and started typing. As she pulled up the Seeker location information, which stated that there were seventeen blue arrows, indicating the Seekers, currently rushing towards one point where there were two red arrows were moving about frantically showing that they were most likely fighting each other. Above one of the red arrows was the name "Joshua Avery." "Wait... Red arrows... Those two are in the Dreamscape!" Anko stated. "And who is this one?" She asked, pointing to the other red arrow with the label "?" attached to it. Shota just smiled.

"I have a hunch..." Shota relpied, running to his desk to grab his ParCon and his phone and started dialing. "Where are they?"

"In the park." Anko replied, still staring at the screen. "Something doesn't seem right, though... Joshua's energy levels are at least ten times stronger than they normally are..."

"And the other one?" Shota said, placing the phone to his ear.

"I can't get an accurate reading... Whoever they are, their energy levels are fluxuating violently."

"Very well. Good work, Anko." Shota said, pacing as he waited for an answer on his phone. "Come on, damn it... I know it's your day off and all but da- Hey Oliver! Listen, no time to explain, I need you and the rest of the team to enter the Dreamscape and meet me at the park! DON'T GIVE ME THAT 'I'M OFF DUTY' BULLSHIT AND JUST DO IT, DAMN IT!" Shota shouted, hanging up the phone and raising his arm, which now had the ParCon on his wrist.

"Shift! Reaper!" Shota exclaimed, transforming into Reaper and opening a portal to the Dreamscape. "Anko, keep me posted."

"I will. Be careful, Commander!" She replied as Reaper walked through the portal, which closed behind him. Sighing in worry, she turned back to the monitor and saw something that made her heart stop. Picking up her headset, she tuned into Reaper's communications frequency. "Commander! You aren't going to believe this!"

"What is it, Anko?" Reaper replied as he dashed as fast as he could throught the Dreamscape to get to the fight.

"It's your daughter! She's in the Dreamscape near the battle!"

"WHAT?!" Reaper exclaimed, now moving faster than before to get there as fast as he could. "Is she okay?! She wasn't possessed, was she?!"

"As far as I can tell, she hasn't been turned into a Vibrant... However her energy signature is weak. She has obviously been in the Dreamscape for some time now, I would have to say at least twelve to fifteen hours."

"Why in the hell wasn't I notified that my daughter was in the Dreamscape?!"

"Commander, her energy signature JUST now appeared! Something must have been blocking the signal." Anko explained. Swearing to himself, Reaper continues to rush toward the battle. Along the way, he met up with another Seeker, wearing a green body suit with heavy yellow blockish boots, gauntlets and upper body armor with a green gem in the center. His helmet was plain and round, except for a single horn pointing straight out from his forehead along with a green visor. In his hand was a warhammer that had a spike on the back of it.

"Glad to see you actually showed up." Reaper shouted to the Seeker, who caught up to him despite the heavy armor.

"What in the hell is so important that I need to rush in on my day off?!" The Seeker asked harshly, getting a glare from Reaper in response.

"Joshua's been found, Oliver.. and there's something odd about him..." Reaper stated grimly.

"What do you mean?"

"His energy signature, according to Anko, is ten times what it should be... It's as if he was possessed..."

"But Shota! You know as well as I do that a Seeker's ParCon prevents possession!" Oliver replied, making Reaper shake his head.

"True... However if the Seeker was to _allow_ the possession... then the ParCon's anti-nightmare program will see the nightmare as a new program and not a threat and allow access to the host." Reaper explained, the grim look on his face becoming even more grim.

"But who in their right mind wou-" Oliver began, but was interrupted.

"Joshua wasn't in a right state of mind, Oliver... He may have allowed it access with the belief that he could use the nightmare's power to accomplish his goals."

"How would he though? He wouldn't have control of his Vibrant form..." Oliver argued, however Reaper just shook his head again.

"Actually... We have done experiments in this field... When a Seeker becomes a Vibrant... They have complete control. The only downside is that the longer you are in Vibrant form in this case, the more damage it will do to the host's body."

"You mean... it can kill him?!" Oliver questioned, understanding his answer when Reaper wouldn't reply. "We better hurry then!" Oliver shouted as the both of them rushed past the Dreamscape version of the school. Reaper only nodded his agreement.

"Where's Maiya and Elric?" Reaper asked, only to see Oliver shaking his head.

"They're still on that mission the Generals sent them on. It's just the two of us..." Oliver informed as they got closer to the park. As they touched down just outside the park, the first thing they notice is the dome of flames surrounding the entire park and just outside of it was Becky, unconcious.

"BECKY!" Reaper exclaimed as he grabbed her up and opened a portal. "Oliver, try and find a way into that dome! We need to get in there! I'm going to bring her to the house real quick!" Reaper stated as he stepped through the portal and rushed to his house down the road. Once he placed her in her bed, he couldn't help but notice that Shiroji wasn't there. _He must be looking for Becky... I wonder why he wouldn't call me though..._ Reaper thought as he opened another portal and rushed back to the park to find that Oliver and the other seventeen Seekers from the area were trying to get inside of the dome by using water-based attack programs.

"Any luck?" Reaper asked Oliver as he backed away from the flames.

"Not yet... but I have an idea that might just work... Everyone stand back!" Oliver commanded, kneeling down and resting a hand on the ground. "Stone Tower!" Oliver shouted as the ground shifted and wedged a pillar of stone up from the bottom of the wall of fire. Oliver then took both hands as if he was pulling something apart and the pillar split from the bottom and ending with about two feet from the top of the pillar as it slowly created a gap in the flames. Once it was big enough to where even Oliver could fit through, Reaper walked up to him and pat him on the shoulder.

"Nice thinking, Oliver. Let's get inside everyone!" Reaper commanded, only to withdraw that order when he saw the battle first hand. As he guessed, Mega Man was, in fact, fighting and was in the air above what Reaper assumed was Joshua, aiming a blaster on his arm at him. Once Joshua noticed him, he launched a stream of flames from his mouth at him, only to have Mega Man reappear right in front of Joshua. Unable to retalliate in time, Joshua was helpless as Mega Man pointed his arm blaster at Joshua's chest.

"DARK SHOT!" Mega Man shouted as he fired a huge blast of violet energy that completely engulfed Joshua. All that anyone could hear was a gut-wrenching scream of pain as the attack ended and Joshua collapsed to the ground, severely injured. As the battle ended, Mega Man dropped to one knee and began to pant heavily.

"My God..." Reaper said to himself. "Mega Man... just who, and WHAT, the hell are you?!"

 **Four minutes prior to Reaper's arrival**

Shiroji was starting to run out of ideas as he dodged the fiery onslaught of Volcan Ifrit. _Damn it! At this rate I won't last much longer!_ He thought as he fired several shots from his arm blaster to distract his opponent as he quickly rushed at an opening and punched Volcan Ifrit in the stomach and sending him back several feet clutching his gut, but quickly took advantage of Shiroji being so close and breathed fire at him, who barely dodged the attack as he shot five more times to get some distance.

"ENERGY RESERVES LOW! THIRTY FOUR PERCENT REMAINING!" The operating system informed, aggravating Shiroji slightly.

"Okay I get it, now shut up!" Shiroji raged as he dodged another one of Volcan Ifrit's fireballs. "Damn it! Does this guy have ANY weaknesses?!" Shiroji said to himself, trying to come up with a strategy. Suddenly he noticed a pattern in his attacks: He would shoot fireballs at him for about a minute then use a stronger attack, then repeat. _He needs time to use more powerful attacks, so he keeps me away from him while he gathers energy!_ Shiroji thought, suddenly thinking of a plan.

Using the trees as cover, he dodged Volcan Ifrit's fireballs. Eventually, Volcan Ifrit let loose another Blaze Impact on the ground and sent a shockwave of flames out all around him, Shiroji taking cover behind the slide to avoid getting hurt. _Now's my chance!_

As he ran from tree to tree, aggravating Volcan Ifrit as he rushed at him and punched through the trees in an effort to hit him, Shiroji started charging his arm blaster with what little remaining energy he had in his reserves, taking care to leave enough energy so that he wouldn't transform back to normal. Once it was ready, he vanished and reappeared above Volcan Ifrit, who noticed his approach and breathed fire at him. Before the flames hit him, however, he vanished once more and reappeared right in front of him, his blaster pointed at Volcan Ifrit's chest. Unable to retalliate, Volcan Ifrit stopped his attack and stared at Shiroji, wide-eyed and terrified.

"Oh this is bullsh-"

"DARK SHOT!" Shiroji shouted, firing a violet blast of energy, point blank, at Volcan Ifrit's chest. Sreaming in pain, Volcan Ifrit was engulfed in the attack. Once the attack ended, Volcan Ifrit was collapsed on the ground, his chest armor gone and his chest had a large hole-like gash that was about an inch deep with blood running down his front. It wasn't enought to kill him, but there was no way he could fight in that condition.

"ENERGY RESERVES HAVE REACHED CRITICAL LEVELS! RETURNING TO NORMAL MODE TO CONSERVE REMAINING ENERGY!" The operating system said as Shiroji's face guard opened up and his claw returned to normal along with his blasters reforming in their holsters. Once he returned to normal, he fell to one knee and started to breathe heavily. He expected this fight to be tough, but he never thought that it would get this intense.

Suddenly, he hears footsteps. Turning his head toward the sound, he sees Reaper and several other Seekers approach him and Volcan Ifrit and surrounds them, pointing their blasters at the both of them.

"Joshua, you are hereby charged with refusing an order from your commander, which is classified under treason, and, until further evidence states otherwise, the kidnapping of one Becky Akihiko! With these charges, you are hereby placed under arrest and shall be taken into custody." Reaper informed Volcan Ifrit, who merely glared at Reaper since he was too weak to speak. Reaper then turned to Shiroji and helped him to his feet. "Are you okay, Mega Man?"

"I think so... Once I Shift back to normal, I should be fine..." Shiroji replied, thankful for the assistance. Suddenly he remembered Becky. "Where's the girl?! Is she safe?!"

"She's fine, Mega Man. I took her home." Reaper reassured him, which relieved Shiroji greatly. "I need to thank you for that, by the way. Her name was Becky Akihiko, and she's my daughter." Reaper grabbed Shiroji's hand and shook it firmly.

"It was because of me that she was kidnapped... You shouldn't be thanking me..." Shiroji replied, depressed. "He used her as bait to make me meet him here today..."

"I figured that was the case..." Reaper told him, signalling for the heavy-armored Seeker to come closer that Shiroji recognized almost instantly.

"Oliver Sykes! Codename Boulder! It's an honor!" Shiroji exclaimed excitedly, instantly regretting his outburst as pain shot across his body and made him buckle at the knees slightly.

"Easy, pal... Just relax." Boulder instructed, who then turned to Reaper. "I take it you want me to patch him up a bit?"

"Just enough for him to stand up properly." Reaper replied, allowing Boulder to transfer some of his energy into Shiroji. Once he was at about seven percent power, Boulder stopped and backed away. As Shiroji thanked him, Volcan Ifrit burst into flame and transformed back into Volcanus, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm... so sorry... Kizuru..." Volcanus breathed, his exhaustion apparent in his voice. "I guess... I won't be... fulfilling our... dream..."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII - Resolve

"Okay everyone, Boulder and I can handle the situation from here. All of you return to your sectors." Reaper ordered the other Seekers, who saluted him in unison with a "Yes, Commander!" and dispersed. However, Reaper walked up to one of them, a woman in her late twenties by the looks of it and long blonde hair, and layed a hand on her shoulder, making her stop in her tracks as they watched the other Seekers leave the area. Once they were all gone, Reaper spoke. "Anko told me that you were the one who relayed the information on Joshua to her. Thank you for your hard work. Take the rest of the day off, you deserve it." The woman gave Reaper a confused and worried look.

"But sir!" The woman protested, staring at Reaper. "I still have three and a half hours left until my relief arrives! I must respectfully decline your generous offer."

"I respect your devotion to your duties, however that wasn't an offer, it was an order. You have been working just as hard as Anko and myself trying to find Joshua. You deserve some time to rest. So I am ordering you to take the rest of the day off and tomorrow as well. I will see to it that you get holiday pay while you are resting." Reaper replied, raising a hand to stop her from continuing her protest. "I already talked it over with Oliver and he agreed to take over the rest of your shift until the relief arrives." She looked as if she was going to continue her protest, but eventually saluted him as he opened a portal for her to pass through. Once she was gone, he started walking back toward Joshua, who was currently being healed by Boulder.

"I'm... so sorry Ki...zuru..." Joshua cried weakly as Boulder tried to heal his wound enough so that he wouldn't die. At the mention of Kizuru, Reaper walked up to Joshua and kneeled to his side.

"What does my son have to do with this?" Reaper questioned as Joshua turned his head slowly and shakily towards his commander.

"Ever since we... first started trainng together... we made a promise... to rise in the ranks... and fight... by your side as... equals." Joshua replied, coughing up blood as he finished the sentence. Reaper shook his head.

"I guess you shouldn't talk until Oliver patches you up. Speaking of which, how bad is it Oliver?" Reaper asked, only to have Oliver shake his head.

"That attack at close range was pretty nasty. If he wasn't wearing armor it would have went right through him. But aside from that, he shouldn't be this weak... this must be the effects of the Nightmare-Seeker fusion you were telling me about..." Oliver replied as he pushed himself to the limit to heal Joshua as best as he could.

"Mega Man... how long was he transformed like this?" Reaper directed at Shiroji, who was approaching them.

"At least twenty minutes... thirty tops... He transformed before we started fighting... I have never seen or even heard of anything like this, though..." Shiroji explained as he looked down at Joshua's wound, which was healing at an excrutiatingly slow rate.

"Damn it, Joshua... If only I found you sooner... I knew you were doing something in secret in the Dreamscape the last couple of weeks... but to imagine you were doing _this!_ If I had only known..." Reaper said to himself, making no attempt to hide the tears that were streaming down his face.

"What exactly happened to him? And what did Boulder mean by a Nightmare-Seeker fusion?" Shiroji asked, seeking the answers to the many questions that were now swarming his mind like angry wasps defending their hive. Upon hearing the question, Reaper's concerned look became grim.

"Well I guess that since you saw it with your own eyes... There's no point keeping it a secret from you, even if it is classified information..." Reaper replied, looking around in a rather paranoid fashion. Once he saw that there was only himself, Oliver, Mega Man, and Volcanus remaining, he began to explain. "When Doctor Sosuke Neroku, the creator of the ParCon and the first Seeker, first established NES ten years ago, he started a secret project that only he and the other Origins, including myself, knew about. It was called Project Nexus... Our goal was to create a secondary transformation, a whole new level of power, to help destroy abnormally powerful Vibrants and Nightmares...

"The only problem was that in order to achieve this new level of power, we needed to harness a form of energy we couldn't understand... An energy that only the Nightmares could harness effectively: Nexus energy, hence the name Project Nexus. No matter what we invented... no matter how much we improved our power... we still couldn't harness the negative Nexus Energy. Eventually, Sosuke came to the conclusion that if one was to wield the power of the Nightmares, one must _become_ a Nightmare." Shiroji's eyes widened at the latest bit of information.

"Who in their right mind would _want_ to become a Nightmare?!" Shiroji asked.

"I asked him the exact same thing just before we got here." Boulder laughed while looking over Joshua's wound, which was now healed to the point where he would live.

"Yes, nobody in a stable state of mind would go through with allowing a possession. However, as you saw yourself, Joshua was not in a right state of mind and allowed the fusion to occur." Reaper continued, walking away from them and towards the Dreamscape version of the tree where Kizuru died. "There was one other who had undergone the fusion... Sosuke himself. However, he had volunteered as the test subject. When the fusion process was over, everything was showing promise as he demonstrated his new abilities, his ungodly speed and his increased power. For two weeks, we continued the tests, each day showing more promise than the next... Project Nexus was a success..." Shiroji couldn't help but notice that Reaper bowed his head with his last statement. "Or so we thought..."

"What do you mean, Shota?" Boulder questioned, now becoming just as curious as Shiroji. Reaper's shoulders started to tremble.

"Halfway into the third week, Sosuke's personality began to change... He became easily aggitated and sometimes had sudden violent outbursts towards us... He even began to have conversations with someone... or something... that only he could see... Most of the time, he pleaded with it, the other times, he argued... I was going to bring it up to the rest of the team when finally... it happened..." Reaper explained as he turned around, his face betraying a fear that Shiroji never saw in his father as he walked closer to them.

"Sosuke killed four of us... and his transformation was completed. Upon completion, Sosuke named himself Xerox and created more Nightmare-Seeker hybrids that he was in control of. This was the start of the greatest battle in our history, one that is now referred to today as The Crucible. After the battle was won, there was no sign of Xerox... however we did find an appropriate name for these hybrids: Mavericks... We decided that this transformation was extremely dangerous and locked all of the files in an encrypted hard drive, and to this day, it remains classified and unknown to the rest of the Seekers..." Once his story was over, Reaper kneeled down to a now healed Joshua and places a pair of energy-linked handcuffs on his wrists. "Now then, you should be able to speak, so let's get back to what we were talking about earlier, shall we? What does my son Kizuru have to do with anything you have done?" "Still weak, Joshua sat up and was silent. For a minute it seemed like he wouldn't speak and Reaper began to stand back up when Joshua finally spoke.

"Like I said earlier, Kizuru and I made a promise to each other. A promise to climb the ranks and fight by your side as one of NES's most powerful teams." Joshua explained, looking down the entire time. "When he finally made it to Colonel, you took him on as your second in command. Our promise was now halfway complete. I continued to strive for the higher ranks and improving my skills to one day join him by your side. When you promoted me to First Lieutenant, I was so happy that nothing could bring me down. At least... not until that day..." Joshua continued, still looking down as he told his story.

"You mean the day he was killed..." Shiroji stated as he also took a knee by Joshua's side. Joshua, finally looking up and into Shiroji's eyes, nodded.

"Yes... that accursed day... changed everything..." Joshua said softly, tears flowing from his eyes. "Our dream could no longer be realized. Instead, I trained twice as hard and twice as long to reach Reaper's side as his partner for the both of us. However, after Kizuru died, Reaper never took anyone on as his second in command ever again. My dream... _our_ dream... was now dead... Finally I decided to find a way to surpass you, Reaper, and become as powerful as an Origin! One day, someone sent a mysterious program to my ParCon... Not knowing what it was, I broke down the code and found the word "Nexus" imbedded in the coding. After doing the research, I finally stumbled upon Project Nexus and started to train using my Maverick form... I have finally achieved the power I needed to surpass you... however, the Nightmare I used to transform was still young and didn't have a will strong enough to complete the possession of a Seeker, which is why I was able to control it..." Joshua informed everyone as he took it upon himself to lie back down onto his back and he got ready to finish his story. "When I realized my power grew when I fought stronger opponents, I decided to hunt down Mega Man, figuring I could kill two birds with one stone."

"Defeating me to gain the power you needed to help reach Reaper's level and then turn me in to go up in the ranks..." Shiroji pieced together as he got a nod from Joshua. Now knowing his reasoning behind his actions made Shiroji furious. "So you mean to tell me that you harrassed all of those students, went rogue, destroyed an innocent family's home, and kidnapped a girl all to fight me and achieve power?!" Everyone stared at Shiroji in shock as he pulled out a blaster and pointed it right at Joshua's forehead at point blank range. "All of those people had to suffer in order to satisfy your own selfish objectives!" Boulder was about to grab his war hammer when Reaper held a hand in front of him and shook his head.

"Why the hell not?!" Boulder asked angrily, but Reaper just smiled as he continued to watch as Joshua's eyes got wider and wider.

"You claim that a dear friend of yours was the reason you did all of this... Well how do you think he feels right now as he watches you do all of these terrible things and become something you're not?! What about Reaper?! Do you think he would EVER let someone like you rise in the ranks knowing what you did?! All of those innocent people... Do you think they would ever trust you to be a leader?!" Shiroji interrogated, tears now starting to flow down his face as he continued to watch as Joshua stared back at him with a rage that would cripple any normal man.

"What of it?! Sometimes great sacrifice must be made in order to achieve one's goals! I will do anything to achieve what was stolen from my friend! That is what fuels my passion as a Seeker! What the hell would _you_ know?! You're just a vigilante playing hero! A criminal! A false hope! One day you-" Joshua shouted. With those words, Shiroji's expression became grim and serious as he stared down at the man at the other end of the barrel of his blaster, completely disgusted by him.

"That's enough, Joshua!" Boulder shouted, but Reaper put his arm up once again, halting Boulder's advance. Before Boulder could protest, Shiroji reholstered his blaster and lifted Joshua up by his torn bodysuit and pulled him so close that he could hear Joshua's every breath.

"Boulder's right... that's enough!" Shiroji shouted as he punched Joshua in the gut, sending him back a good fourty feet before he hit the ground and slid another ten feet. As Joshua clutched his stomach while trying to catch his breath, Shiroji slowly advanced on him. "You label me as if you know me... Well let me tell you a little something... I _do_ know how you feel... I can relate to the pain..."

"Don't you DARE compare me to-" Joshua began only to have Shiroji disappear and then reappear right above Joshua, fist already drawn back as he descended.

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" Shiroji exclaimed as he punched Joshua in the gut once again and causing several cracks to spread out on the ground underneath him from the impact. Once Shiroji recovered from his descent, he stared down at Joshua, who was gasping in pain. "Interrupt me one more time and I promise you won't be able to speak again!" With that, Joshua remained silent and nodded his head.

"You claim that I am nothing but a false hope... a fake hero... yet you don't even know me... In all honesty, we are a lot alike, you and I. I have lost someone dear to me... my brother..." Shiroji began, the tears flowing once again. "There's not a day that goes by that I'm not in pain... All because of a Nightmare. I made a silent vow the day of his funeral as I saw everyone crying... A vow to never let this happen to anyone else! I will strive to be a protector of this city! Maybe not the one they need, but definitely one they deserve! I will cast my own life aside to protect those who need it! This is my goal! This is my mission! THIS IS THE POWER OF MEGA MAN!" Joshua's eyes opened wide at the statement. As he stared into Shiroji's eyes, he knew that the man before him spoke the truth.

 **Ten Minutes Later...**

Shiroji opened a portal out of the Dreamscape, eager to go home and rest, however he waited for Reaper and Boulder to escort Joshua through the portal. As they were passing him, Joshua spoke to him.

"Thanks to you... I have a new goal... and I am ashamed to admit that it has taken all of this to finally realize this is the path I should have taken to begin with... but I swear, when I get out of prison, whether I am a Seeker or not, I will do my utmost to be more like you." Shiroji couldn't help but smile as he heard these words.

"Kizuru would be proud to hear you say that..." Reaper told him, patting him on the shoulder and walking through the portal with him. Once they were all in the real world, Shiroji jumped onto the rooftops and started to take the long way home so as to avoid suspicion from his father. Once he climbed through the window and into his room, he shifted back into his human form. As he turned to his bed, exhausted, his heart skipped a beat as he saw his sister, Becky, sitting on the end of his bed and staring at him.

"I had a feeling that you were hiding something, Shiroji..."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII - Scarab

"B-Becky!" Shiroji exclaimed, shocked to see his sister not only awake but also in his room as if she was waiting for him. "You're okay! Thank go-"

"Don't try to change the subject, damn it!" Becky snapped, glaring at him.

"Becky, I was going to tell you eventually... Honestly I was." Shiroji admitted, regretting that statement as she got up off his bed and smacked him in the face.

"Eventually?! EVENTUALLY?! When the hell would 'eventually' be, when you are within an inch of your life?! Maybe if you get captured and brought into custody and your identity is revealed on the news?!"

"Becky, I-" Shiroji began as he rubbed his cheek, but now that she was fired up, there was no reasoning with her.

"You know what Dad would say if he knew about this?! He would be beside himself! You KNOW that he is against you becoming a Seeker, and yet here you are fighting Nightmares and Vibrants and whatever the hell that other Seeker turned into!"

"Wait... you saw that?!"

"Stop changing the subject and answer my question!"

"It's not a rebellious thing, if that's what you're thinking!" Shiroji retaliated.

"Okay, then revenge for Kizuru!"

"No!"

"So then it's to be an attention-seeking hero who-" Finally, Shiroji had enough and grabbed the object nearest to him, his headphones, and threw them on the floor.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME?!" Shiroji shouted. Almost instantly Becky went silent, her face a mixture of rage and surprise. "If I didn't turn into Mega Man we would be orphans, damn it! When Sierra turned into that Vibrant at her birthday party, she was about to kill Dad! If I didn't Shift and stop her, he wouldn't be here today! If I didn't show up when I did at school a couple days ago, those Vibrants would have continued their rampage and could have possibly killed several people, including you, before any of the Seekers arrived! I chose to become Mega Man to protect those I love and care about!" Both of them looked at each other silently, Becky taking her spot back on the bed and Shiroji still standing next to the window. Finally, Becky broke the silence.

"So you never told us you were Mega Man-" Becky began, but Shiroji finished her sentence.

"-so you wouldn't be targeted by any enemies that Mega Man may have or make. But I need to ask... When did you find out?"

"At first, I didn't know... But the school incident was when I started to piece everything together: At the party, you disappeared then suddenly a new Seeker appears and saves Dad and Sierra... At school, Sierra kept telling me at our lockers how Mega Man was concerned about her... When that one Seeker, Joshua, went crazy, you disappeared again and then not even two minutes later, Mega Man shows up and fights him... Then last night, Joshua kidnaps me and who just so happens to be in the area to come rescue me?! Mega Man!" Becky explained, smiling while she shook her head. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out if you think about it..."

"I guess you're right... But please don't-"

"I won't tell Dad... Like I said, he would be upset." Becky assured him. "However... if there comes a time when I believe he absolutely NEEDS to know... I'm telling him the first chance I get, understand?" Shiroji looked to the floor, thinking hard on the situation.

"Fair enough... But don't tell anyone esle either, okay?" Shiroji asked, practically begging. Becky rolled her eyes at him.

"You have such little faith in me... You should know that if I'm not going to tell Dad that I won't tell anyone else." Becky replied sarcastically as she stood back up and started to walk out of the room, stopping at the door. "Just promise me one thing, Shiro..."

"Name it, and I will do my best to keep it." Shiroji told her as she turned to him again, shocked to see tears in her eyes.

"Promise you won't take on anything you can't handle alone... Losing Kizuru was hard enough, but losing you too would probably kill me inside..." Shiroji could understand where she was coming from. She was the youngest of the three of them, Kizuru being the oldest and himself being the middle child. She grew up from day one with both of them in her life. When Kizuru died, he had to do everything he could to keep Becky from drowning in her own despair while he did his best to stay strong and be her pillar of strength. If he were to die as well, her pillar would be gone... she would have nobody to turn to, considering their father took Kizuru's death the hardest since he was there when it happened.

"I promise." He said, reaching his arm out in front of him. Eventually, Becky copied him and took her arm and placed it next to his and grabbed his forearm, Shiroji grabbing hers. Similar to a hand shake, this was an action of trust, commonly used by Seekers and their loved ones, that usually followed a serious promise. It was believed to create a bond between the two who perform this act. When they let go of each others' forearm, Becky turned and left the room. The exhaustion finally catching up with him, Shiroji walks over to the bed and flops onto it, falling asleep almost instantly.

Felling like he was hit by a freight train going at full speed, Shiroji sluggishly threw the blankets off of him and sat up. Although he bore no scars from the battle, he still felt like they were there. _Well that's one good thing to being a Seeker... Legal or not._ He thought, referring to the fact that any damage sustained to the Seeker's body while Shifted will not be carried to their original body once the transformation is cancelled. The pain, however, will remain for some time.

 _I'll just pass it off as a cold or something..._ Shiroji thought as he made a reach for his headphones, only to find that they were missing from their usual spot on the nightstand next to the window. Finally, he remembered throwing them last night and was sad to see that the left earpiece was snapped clean off and the earpiece itself was broken into several pieces. Throwing some clean clothes on and grabbing his skateboard and backpack, he heads downstairs and past the living room where his dad fell asleep last night, obviously as exhausted as he was from yesterday's ordeal. Taking care to not to wake his father up, he slowly walked outside and carefully shut the door to avoid making any noise.

"Shiroji!" Someone shouted, scaring Shiroji so much that he jumped slightly, making his sore back lock up as he fell to his knees. Turning his head to the source of the voice, he sees Becky walking over to him from her garden on the side of the house. "Oh God! I'm sorry!" She apologized, helping him up. Once he was able to straighten his back up, he kicked the back of his dropped skateboard and caught it as it flipped into the air.

"Thanks, Becky."

"Where're you going? Shouldn't you be resting?" Becky questioned, obviously concerned.

"Nah, I can't sit around all day and do nothing... Besides, I broke my headphones and need to get a new pair." He replied as he started walking down the driveway.

"Since you're going out anyway, can you pick up some milk?" Becky asked. "We're running low." Not even looking back, he gave her a thumbs up and threw his skateboard down in front of him to get a rolling start as he hopped onto the board and rolled down the street.

As he got into the market district, he watched as the greeters for the stores all waited outside to greet the customers or help with their bags. The signs above each store showed off their unique neon logo and what they sold. His favorite store in particular, Marty's Gadgets, had just about everything you would need for a computer, phone, television, and musical acessories.

As he walked into Marty's, the first thing he did was look around for the owner of the shop. Finally spotting him in the back, a man in his sixties with graying short brown hair and full moon framed glasses that enlarged the man's light brown eyes. He had a small gut, but then again most men his age do. As he was sorting through some computer parts on a shelf, he noticed Shiroji approaching him.

"Shiroji, my boy! How have you been?" The old man said enthusiastically, making Shiroji grin. He couldn't help but smile whenever he was around the guy.

"Doing good, Mr. Marty, doing good. How's business?"

"Are you ever going to drop the 'Mister' part? You've known me for a good number of years now and you are my best customer! There's no need for formalities with me." Marty explained, winking. Shiroji chuckled slightly.

"Well you certainly don't look like a miss, misses or ma'am to me..." Shiroji said playfully. Marty just waved an arm as he turned away, laughing.

"So what brings you to my shop today, Shiroji?" Marty asked as he walked behind the counter.

"I broke my headphones and I need to get another pair." Shiroji answered. Marty just shook his head.

"Boy, you break more headphones than anyone else I know... But I must be doing something right if you keep coming back here to get yourself a new pair."

"The best in Rize City! Now then, whatchya got for me Marty?" Shiroji asked eagerly as Marty walked him over to the wall to the left of the counter that displayed a wide variety of different styled headphones: overhead, ear buds, behind-the-head... you name it, he had it. The best part was that every single pair was unique and made personally by Marty himself. As Shiroji scanned the shelves, a pair of black and blue overhead headphones with ear pieces that covered his whole ear to block out the sound arround him. Along the side of each ear piece was a white wolf with solid blue eyes. "How much are these?" Shiroji asked, pointing to the headphones.

"Excellent choice! I call those 'The Hunters.' They automatically equalize the songs it plays to your preference. Just plug them into your computer and set the settings. Normally I would charge around a hundred and fifty for those, considering they are one of a kind and top of the line... however for you, as long as you and your friend with the guitar keep bringing me business, free of charge!" Marty replied kindly, however Shiroji seemed taken aback.

"For free?! I can't do you like that!"

"Oh please, Shiroji. You and your friend helped get my name out there when I first moved here from Cipher City. I owe the two of you a lot. This is the least I can do."

"But-"

It's either that or you can work it off. Either way I am not accepting any money from you." Seeing that Marty wasn't going to give in, Shiroji accepted the headphones and thanked him numerous times as he walked out of the store. Now that he had his new headphones, it was time to get some milk from the dollar store. Just as he walked outside, however, he notices a strange shadow in the alleyway next to the hardware store across the street. Suddenly it runs deeper into the alley. Believing it may be a Nightmare or Vibrant, Shiroji jumped onto his skateboard and chased after it. Ignoring the pangs of soreness from his legs and back, he continued to give chase until he reached a dead end.

"Dammit! Where did it go?!" Shiroji exclaimed as he looked around to see if he missed a side alley somewhere. Suddenly he heard a chuckle. "Where are you?!"

"So you're Shiroji Akihiko... Son of the great Reaper..." A voice called out. It was male and slightly low pitched. "Or should I call you... Mega Man..." Shiroji's eyes widened. _How in the hell does he know about that?!_ He asked himself as he pulled out his ParCon. He really didn't want to use it, considering that both he and his Seeker form have yet to recover completely from the battle with Volcan Ifrit, but he had a feeling that he had no choice.

"Shift! M3G4!" Shiroji shouted as he Shifted into Meg Man, although his body suit was repaired slightly, which only revealed his left arm rather than the whole upper left of his body now, his armor had barely reformed. The crack on his visor was repaired as well and so was the face guard. As soon as the transformation was completed, however, he dropped to one knee as all of the pain from the burns, bruises and cuts his Seeker form sustained in his last battle came back with a vengeance, although now the wounds were closed up. "How do you know who I am?!" Shiroji demanded.

"I was there the day you Shifted at the school to stop Volcanus from going mad." The voice replied. "I saw you run over to that shed and rush back out as Mega Man." Suddenly a boy who seemed close to his age wearing a black body suit with metallic purple armor; pointed boots, gauntlets with pointed fingers and two small blades that ran the length of each of his forearms, chest armor that had four clear glass-looking insect-like wings on his back that were currently pointing towards the floor, and a full helmet with what appeared to be two pincers pointing straight up from the sides of his head and two white bug-like eye visors took the place of the usual one-piece style visor. Oddly enough, the boy didn't seem to have any weapons. Cautiously, Shiroji reached for one of his blasters, his visor's operating system displaying his power levels to only be at thirty six percent. _This is bad... If I end up fighting him, I'll be at a disadvantage._ Shiroji thought grimly as he kept a close eye on the stanger before him as he got to his feet, the initial shock from the pain fading. "You won't be needing that..." The boy told him, pointing at the blaster Shiroji was reaching for.

"Who are you?" Shiroji demanded, his hand gripping the blaster.

"I am known as Scarab. Like you, I am an unregistered Seeker..." Scarab replied, crossing his arms. "Would you please relax? I have no intentions of fighting you while you are in such a weakened state."

"How can I be so sure that this isn't some trick to get me to lower my guard?!" Shiroji snapped, beginning to unholster the blaster. Before he could completely remove it from its holster, however, spears emerged from the shadows, the tips all just inches from vital points all across his body. Upon closer inspection, it seemed the spears were created from the shadows themselves. Now Shiroji understood why he had no weapons... he could create them at will.

"My power allows me to control and manipulate the shadows. As long as there is a shadow near me, I can shape it to my desire." Scarab explained, now approaching Shiroji while making the spears retreat back into the shadows that they were created from. "If I wanted to harm you, I could have done so at any time." Finally believing him, Shiroji reholstered the blaster.

"Why are you here?" Shiroji questioned, making Scarab shake his head.

"Same as you: I want to protect everyone. I strive for justice!" Scarab exclaimed as he turned around and started to walk away. "I also want to test my mettle against the Black Knight of Rize City. I've travelled a long way just to meet you."

"But why me? What's so special about me?" Shiroji asked, he just couldn't understand what was so amazing about him. He could understand if he was looking for Reaper or Boulder, however he has only been a Seeker for a few weeks... Did he really generate that big of a buzz in the media in that short a time?

"I want to test my power against an Origin, but they have those nasty Limiter programs that prevent them from using their full power outside of the Dreamscape, somewhere I cannot enter... You, from what I've heard, have power that rivals that of an Origin and you don't have a Limiter program, meaning you can fight at full power even outside of the Dreamscape, making you the perfect opponent for me!" Suddenly the shadows below Scarab began to shift and swirl, Scarab slowly sinking into it. "We will meet again, Shiroji Akihiko... I hope that by then you will have recovered and possibly become stronger." With those words, he completely disappeared into the shadow.

"Scarab... Just who are you..."

AFter the encounter with Scarab, Shiroji returns home to take a well-deserved nap. As he walked into the kitchen to put the milk in the fridge, he pulled out his new headphones, which were snatched away from him by his father who looked at them enthusiastically.

"Wow these look nice! How much were they?" He asked. Shiroji just smiled.

"Nice to see you're awake! You must've been exhausted... those were a gift from Marty for being his best customer."

"Well that was kind of him... and yes, I am feeling better, thanks. I wish the same could be said for you... you look terrible." his father pointed out.

"Just a cold. I'll be okay. Just need a good night's sleep or two and I should be good as new." Shiroji lied. Convinced, Shota handed the headphones back to Shiroji. Before he left the room, however, he turned around and asked, "Dad, have you ever heard of a Seeker in metallic purple, bug-like armor?" Shota just gave him a quizzical look.

"I heard rumors... but I didn't think that he was real... the Seekers from Jozei City, which is located about five hours east of here, have told me of encounters with a bug-like Seeker... Why you ask?" Shota questioned.

"No reason, I just overheard some people in the market district talking about it today. Anyway, goodnight." Shiroji explained as he went upstairs to his room and, feeling fatigued by the day's events, as well as yesterday's events, fell right to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX - Striker

"Aw come on, you guys! We would make a killer band!" Zach exclaimed, walking backwards in front of Shiroji and Sierra.

"NO!" Both Shiroji and Sierra replied in unison, now getting annoyed. Ever since the talent show last year, Zach had been pestering the both of them to help him form a band. Sure Zach played a mean guitar, Sierra was amazing with a bass guitar, and Shiroji was actually a rather decent singer... however neither Shiroji or Sierra saw their talents as more than a hobby.

"Can I at least know why you don't want to?!" Zach asked. Shiroji just shook his head while Sierra rolled her eyes.

"Zach... we've told you several times that we just don't see it as more than something we do for the talent show!"

"And I have told you every time that answer isn't a good enough reason! We have the talent! We should do it!" Zach argued, still walking backwards. Suddenly, Sierra picked up the pace a little and bonked him on the head. "OW! The hell was that for?!"

"You are starting to piss me off! If someone tells you no, it means no, damn it! Now stop! We already promised we would do the talent shows with you, and maybe a couple of birthday parties or something... but we aren't going to actually form a band! Now that's enough!" Sierra shouted menacingly, scaring Zach to the point where he just cowered down, turned around, and took his usual spot when they walked on the other side of Shiroji. Calming down, Sierra starts searching through her bag. "Damn... Shiroji do you have your phone on you?"

"Yeah... why?" Shiroji replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"What time is it? I don't want to be late for class again..." Sierra explained as Shiroji checked the digital clock on his phone, which stated that it was only eight fourty-seven am.

"We still have about thirteen minutes to get there before the warning bell sounds. No need to rush." Shiroji told her as they continued to walk down the street. About five minutes later, a young boy walks into the middle of the street, stopping in front of them. He was pale and looked as if he hadn't slept in days. Pulling out his phone, Shiroji cautiously walked over to the boy while dialing his father's number. Before he could take another step, however, someone snatches him by the arm. Turning around, he sees that it's Sierra, shaking her head all the while.

"That's not a good idea..." She warned, still holding onto his hand. Suddenly, Zach walks past the two of them.

"Zach what the hell are you-" Sierra began, but Zach just held a hand up as a sign to leave him alone as he walked over to the boy. Putting the phone to his ear, Shiroji impatiently listened for his father's voice...

"Commander Akihiko speaking." Shota answered.

"Dad... On Fowler Street, there's this kid who-"

"Yeah we already know about him. Someone phoned him in about five minutes ago. Just stay away from him, Shiroji. I sent a squad over there to handle the situation. I'll see you tonight." Shota instructed, hanging up the phone.

"Dad said to stay away from him and that he sent a squad over this way not too long ago. They should be here shortly." Shiroji informed the two of them, making Zach back away from the kid. "Anyway, let's go to-" Shiroji began, but then there was a surge of electrical power and the boy began to change. Instinctively reaching for his ParCon in his pocket, he froze at the last second. _Damn it... If I Shift now... Sierra and Zach will know I'm Mega Man... It's not that I don't trust them, but I can't put my friends at risk like that if they were to be interrogated as to who Mega Man really is..._ He thought as he reluctantly removed his hand from his pocket and watched the boy transform into a Vibrant.

His body began to glow birght blue and was constantly shifting as if his body was made of electricity, he had silver leather boots and gloves on that reached the knees and elbows respectively, his upper body was encased in a silver metallic armor with a red gem in the center. If he had a mouth, Shiroji couldn't tell due to the constant shifting of his appearance. His eyes were glowing white. As his transformation completed, he walked towards the three of them, only to be stopped by a series of blaster shots aimed just in front of him.

"Who dares to aim an attack at the mighty Ixion?!" The boy shouted, searching for the attacker. Eventually, his gaze locked at a tree off to the side of the road where three Seekers waited in its branches.

"Target has transformed into a Vibrant. Code name: Ixion. Squad eighteen now engaging target." One of the Seekers said into his headset as all three of them descended from the tree and stood between Ixion and Shiroji, Sierra and Zach.

"Come on, you guys! We should leave!" Sierra shouted as she started to run away from the battle. However, she was cut off by a small, spirit-like creature that seemed to be made of electricity, just like Ixion. In a flash of light, all three of the Seekers were face-down on the ground.

"Foolish humans... as if you could compare to me, the Lightning King Ixion!" Ixion boasted smuggly, walking over to Shiroji and the others. "Now then... what shall I do with you three?" As he closed in on them, he grabbed one of the spikes at his waist and pulled it out and detaching it from his body, a double-ended blade of electricity forming from it. "Make this interesting, will you?!" He asked as he went to strike Sierra in the chest, but Shiroji grabbed her and pulled her over to him just in time, the end of the blade only managing to slice her skirt along the side and up to the waistband. Clutching her close to him, he took the impact of the fall and allowed her to fall on top of him. Although he was on the ground, Shiroji never took his eyes off of Ixion.

"Impressive... And I have to say, my dear... The modification to your wardrobe suits you rather nicely." Ixion stated, chuckling slightly. As the two of them got up, Shiroji blushed as he saw what Ixion meant; the cut in Sierra's skirt revealed her underwear slightly. Red in the face, Sierra grabbed her skirt and held it together.

"Pervert!" She screamed, throwing her bag at Ixion, who effortlessly swatted it away with a single move of his arm.

"Consider it an improvement. I believe a woman should be proud of their bodies and show it off however they can." Ixion explained, making Shiroji's skin crawl.

"You have no class, dude! A real man would respect a woman's privacy!" Shiroji shouted, but instantly regretted it as Ixion made a move to slash at them again, obviously enraged at Shiroji's remark, Shiroji grabbed Sierra once again, clutching her close to his chest, and spun them out of the way.

"You dare to insult me, boy?! Allow me to demonstrate what happens to those who wind up in poor standards with me!" As he was about to slash at them again, a guitar strikes Ixion in the back of the head. As Ixion staggered from the sudden blow to the head, Zach grabs Shiroji's hand and pulls him and Sierra away.

"Come on!" He ordered, pulling them down the street. It wasn't long before Ixion caught up with them and punched Zach in the face, knocking him out.

"You filthy little insect! I'll teach you to mess with me!" Ixion shouted, bringing the tip of his blade to Zach's throat, pulling it back and readying the attack that would end Zach's life. _Looks like I have no choice!_ Shiroji thought, reaching for his ParCon.

"Dragoon Shield!" Someone shouted. Just as Shiroji had his ParCon half-way out of his pocket, seven triangular devices flew past him towards Zach and formed a seven-pointed shield of blue energy, protecting him from Ixion's attack. Looking to the direction of the voice, Shiroji finds a Seeker, his age undetermined due to his whole body being covered in white, robotic-looking armor. In all honesty, he looked like a robotic paladin. At his waists were two large triangular blasters and on his back were black and blue blade-like wings. His chest armor was black and had two shoulder guards extending outward above his arms. Each forearm had a large crimson gem near his hands. His helmet had another crimson gem that had two golden blade-like antennae ponting upward a couple inches while two more white blades stuck out on each side of the gem. His face was completely masked except for his eyes, which were a bright glacier blue.

"If you want someone to fight, then come fight me!" The Seeker shouted, catching Ixion's attention.

"Another Seeker to the slaughter, it seems. You do realize that those three over there barely lasted two seconds against me. What makes you so different?!" Ixion taunted. Surprisingly, the Seeker just laughed.

"I'm on a much higher level than them, I promise you. Let's start with introductions, shall we?" The Seeker answered, awaiting Ixion's introduction.

"I am the Lightning King, Ixion. None have ever crossed swords with me and lived to tell the tale. The only reason nobody here is dead yet is because I am not used to this child's body."

"My name is Dan Kito, code named Striker. I'm a transfer from Cipher City and I just so happened to be in the area, on my way to register with Rize City's NES division, when I noticed you terrorizing these children." Striker explained, grabbing one of the blasters from his hip, which then formed around his hand. "Shall we?"

"Indeed!" Ixion shouted as he rushed at Striker, blade at the ready. What happened next shocked everyone as they saw Striker, who is heavily armored, move so fluently and effortlessly that one would believe he wasn't wearing any of the armor at all, aimed his blaster from a crouching position and began charging energy into his blaster.

"Strike Buster!" He shouted, letting loose a giant blast of bright energy at point blank range, sending Ixion flying across the street. Reholstering his blaster, he grabbed two bladeless hilts from behind him, flipped a switch on both of them causing two beam sabers to emerge from the hilts as he rushed with his insane speed towards Ixion. As he got close, Ixion recovered mid-air.

"Bolt Beast!" Ixion shouted, sending a burst of electricity at Striker that took the form of a wolf that ran towards him. Effortlessly, he cut through the attack and rushed up to Ixion, his arms crossed in front of him with both blades at the ready.

"Blitz Strike!" Striker shouted, attacking with a frenzy of slashes that suspended Ixion slightly above the ground as each attack made its mark. Finally stopping the attack, he resheathed his weapons and allowed Ixion to fall onto his back. Raising an open hand toward Ixion, the seven triangular devices that were protecting Zach flew over to Ixion, circling above him.

"Dragoon Binder!" Striker commanded, causing the devices to stop and release a chain of blue energy at different locations of Ixion's body: Two at his waist, one at his throat, and one at each of his wrists and ankles, effectively pinning him down. As he went to remove Ixion from the child's body, however, Ixion smiled and left the boy's body of his own will, allowing the boy to turn back to normal. Waving his arm to the side, the triangular devices formed to his left arm as a buckler. Picking up the boy, he walked over to Shiroji and the others, his face guard opening up to reveal a young, tan face. Judging from what he could see, Striker seemed to be in his early twenties.

"Is everyone okay?" Striker asked.

"The two of us are okay... but I think Zach got pretty messed up." Sierra replied, still clutching her skirt to hide the waistband of her underwear. Setting the boy down, Stiker raised both arms parallel to the ground, his legs shoulder width apart.

"Armor Mode disengage!" He shouted, and suddenly the armor began to open up and remove itself from his body, reforming behind him. Now that Dan was no longer in his armor, everyone could see how he was able to move so fast; it was as if his body was nothing but pure muscle, however he wasn't overly muscular, but lean and toned. He had messy, short black hair and a tan complexion. He was wearing the black Seeker jacket of Cipher City, unzipped to reveal a white t-shirt underneath and matching white pants along with black combat boots. At his waist was a blaster and what appeared to be another set of beam sabers that were not yet activated. "Wing, take these two to the hospital." Striker ordered. Considering there was nobody else around, Shiroji and Sierra started looking for the person Stiker was talking about. Suddenly, the armor moved on its own and made the seven triangular devices pick Zach and the boy up off the ground in an energy-like stretcher.

"Affirmative, Captain Kito. I have also taken the liberty of calling emergency dispatch and had them send three emergency transport for the rest of the injured." The armor said in a monotonic voice as its wings spread out.

"Good work, and why do you have such a hard time just calling me Dan?! I'm not your boss, I'm your partner!" Dan replied, laughing slightly.

"My apologies, Dan. Preferences acknowledged." Wing replied as he activated the boosters in his wings and took to the skies, Zach and the boy close behind him. Shiroji just stared with his mouth open.

"That's so cool! I've never seen anything like that!" Shiroji exclaimed.

"Wing is a prototype that I have been asked to test out. He can fight on his own, but his true power is realized when he becomes armor for a human. The Project Team at Cipher City's NES calls it the Knight System. He's only a month old so far, so he is still having trouble interacting with humans other than myself, but he has made steady progress. The name's Dan, by the way. Dan Kito. I'm a transfer from Cipher City." Dan said excitedly.

"I'm Shiroji Akihiko."

"Wait... you're not Commander Akihiko's son, are you?"

"Yep, that's him." Sierra told him, patting Shiroji on the back as she got up. Not realizing that her skirt was caught on Shiroji's backpack, it finished tearing and fell off, revealing her pink panties to Shiroji, who was now blushing violently, and Dan, who turned the other way quickly. Squealing slightly, she squatted down to try and cover herself with her bag, her face so red with embarrassment that it made her look like a cherry. Thinking quickly, Shiroji took off his jacket and handed it to her. "Thanks Shiro..." She said, wraping it around her waist in a makeshift dress. Suddenly feeling a slight chill, he realized that he didn't even have a shirt on. "Have you been working out or something, Shiro?" She asked him curiously.

It would seem that his time spent as an unregistered Seeker has indeed improved his physique as he inspected his stomach, which was showing signs of a six-pack developing and even his arms were developing some muscle. His chest and shoulders were broader too. "No, not really... although I have been doing some exercises in the morning... nothing big though..." Shiroji lied. Dan cleared his throat.

"Anyway... I'm going to report to NES to finish my transfer. Maybe we'll meet again sometime. Oh and don't worry about school, I'm sure that after this incident, neither of you want to go to class, especially considering how underdressed you two are now." Dan explained, laughing as Sierra grabbed the open part of the jacket at the side and shyly grabbed it shut while Shiroji just scratched the back of his head, smiling. Pulling a pad out of his pocket, Dan wrote the both of them an excuse for each of them to give to their homeroom teachers the next day. "Okay then, I'll be seeing you two around. Keep safe." Dan said as he walked down the street.

Once Dan turned the corner, Shiroji and Sierra started walking back home together. Suddenly, Sierra stopped and looked to the ground. "Hey can I come to your place for a bit? My parents are away on a business trip and I would like some company." She asked him.

"I don't mind. You just got to put up with teasing from my dad for a bit... Considering it's his day off and you dont have any pants on..." Shiroji replied teasingly, resulting in Sierra blushing slightly and smacking him in the shoulder. As they got to Shiroji's house, the first thing that Shota did was, as Shiroji predicted, teased the both of them for being underdressed. Once Shiroji explained the situation, Shota agreed to let Sierra stay over.

"Hell, if you want, Sierra, you can just stay here in the guest bedroom until your folks get home. Just call them to make sure it's okay, first."

"Yes sir. Thank you!" She said, grabbing Shiroji's phone from his jacket pocket and dialing her parents' number. _Glad the ParCon wasn't in my jacket pocket..._ He thought, rubbing his back pocket where the ParCon was hidden. Looking over to his father, he noticed he was smiling.

"You know... she's a pretty girl, Shiro..." Shota told him, making Shiroji blush.

"I-I... umm... S-She... Y-" Shiroji stuttered, making Shota laugh.

"I've known for a while now that you had a crush for her. Why don't you ask her out? I'll even give you some cash to take her to dinner and maybe a movie or something." Shota offered, pulling out about a hundred dollars in cash and waved it in front of him.

"A-Am I really that obvious?" Shiroji asked, making Shota smile even more.

"Son, the only way you would be any more obvious is if you had a sign on your forehead saying, 'I love her!'" Shota teased, waiting for Shiroji's answer. It was true that he did have a crush on her. He had been thinking of a way to ask her out for a while now, but he was afraid that it might make things awkward between them if she said no. His courage finally overcoming his fear, he nodded. "Atta boy! Here you go." Shota said excitedly as he handed Shiroji the money. "Now go get her!" He told him, slightly pushing him toward the kitchen where she was talking on the phone. As he approached her, his heart started to beat faster and faster and it felt like a bunch of butterflies were trying to get out of his stomach. He couldn't help but stare at her pink hair, one of his favorite traits about her, as he walked up to her.

"Okay, I'll go over there twice a week to take care of the plants... Yes ma'am... I promise I will help with the chores at Shiro's house... Love you too, and thanks." She said, hanging up the phone. As she turned around, she was shocked to see Shiroji standing at the counter. "I guess I'll be here for the next three weeks!" She said excitedly. Still nervous about what he was about to do, he just gave her a thumbs up. Right away she knew something was bothering him. "What's wrong? You look sick..."

"I-I... Umm... Well..." He started, his tongue feeling as thought it were in knots. Sierra giggled a little bit.

"You can tell me, Shiro. No need to be so shy."

"Yewannaseeyamoveh?" Shiroji said, faster than intended. In the reflection in the window behind Sierra, he could see his father facepalm himself.

"What did you say?" Sierra asked him, staring at him with her deep green eyes. Finally, his heart started to slow down a bit and his mind stopped racing, allowing him to calm down slightly.

"I-I was asking if... maybe y-you wanted to... go see a movie..." Shiroji managed to get out. Sierra seemed shocked at first, but then she smiled.

"Sounds fun! When do you want to go?" She replied, still smiling. If his heart could speak, it would be cheering right now.

"Maybe tonight?"

"Sounds good to me! I just need to get some clothes from my place real quick. Can you come with me?"

"Sure, let me just get a shirt though..."

 **At the hospital...**

"Thank you, ma'am. Captain Kito will be by tomorrow to check on the children involved in the incident." Wing informed the nurse as he walked away from the desk. Once he was outside, he spread his wings and took to the skies. As he flew through a cloud, he felt a quick surge of power course through him. Figuring it was just the moisture from the cloud interfering with his electrical components, he paid little attention to the sensation. As Wing touched down in front of the NES building, he looked for Dan, finally spotting him over at the break area.

"Wing! How did everything go?" Dan asked him as he got up and walked over to him.

"The check-in procedure for the children was a success. I have informed the nurse and doctor that you would be arriving tomorrow to check on them." Wing explained. With a nod, both Dan and Wing walked off to the NES dorms where they were assigned an apartment to live in.

As they got inside, they noticed that it was a studio flat with a bed in the corner, Wing's terminal was set up beside it, a television was across the room from the bed on top of a dresser, a table and chair next to it. Next to the table was a stove and sink with cabinets for storage. A door leading to the bathroom was across the room from the kitchen.

"Home, sweet home!" Dan exclaimed as he flopped onto the bed with a sigh. "Comfy!"

"With all due respect, Capt-"

"DAN! My name is Dan!"

"My apologies. With all due respect, Dan... These living arrangements seem rather... inadequate... for someone of your rank." Wing explaind, examining his terminal to make sure everything was in place.

"Aww relax... it's temporary. Once I get an apartment here, which should be within a month, we will be set. Besides, you really can't complain. They're letting us stay for free, after all."

"Indeed..." Wing said, stepping onto his terminal to begin his routine daily download. "It appears that a new program is ready for installation. Shall I proceed?" Wing asked,catching Dan's attention.

"That's wierd... Nobody informed me about a new program..." Dan said, slightly surprised as he went to the terminal's monitor to view the program. "It seems to be a new attack program. Go ahead and install it and we will test it out tomorrow."

"Affirmative." Wing replied as Dan went to the bed and fell asleep. "Entering Stand-By Mode." Wing stated, his systems shutting down as he froze in place.

A few hours later, as Dan slept, Wing's eyes began to glow slightly.

"Meheheheh... Soon, Seeker... Soon..."

 **I would like to give a shout out to "Titanic X" for his contribution of the characters Dan Kito and Wing. As always, I am interested in the ideas you all have for OCs. If you want to have an OC appear in the story, just fill out the following information and send it to my Inbox. (Please don't post your OC in the Reviews... They will be ignored. The exception is Scarab because I wasn't clear in my instructions the first time around :p) Just please keep in mind that not all contributions will be accepted.**

 **(1) First and Last name of character**

 **(2) Male or Female**

 **(3) Age**

 **(4) Appearance**

 **(5) Seeker? (If yes, please include the following info)**

 **\- Code Name**

 **\- Seeker Appearance**

 **\- Character Referrence, if any**

 **\- Main weapon(s) of choice (may have up to thre individual weapons)**

 **\- Elemental Affinity (if any. May only have up to two different elements)**

 **\- Special Technique (Please try and be creative.)**

 **(6) Background Story. (If a location is included, describe it as best you can and I will place the character's origins in the area most suited to them.)**

 **If your character is a Nightmare or Vibrant, do not fill out the Seeker information.**

 **The following OC requests will NOT be accepted:**

 **(a) Any of the following character references:**

 **-Zero**

 **-Axel**

 **-Bass**

 **-Rogue**

 **-Mega Man or X**

 **-Harpuia**

 **-Phantom**

 **-Fenrir**

 **-Leviathan**

 **-Life Virus**

 **-Gospel Mega Virus**

 **-Alpha**

 **-Duo**

 **-Nebula Grey**

 **-Gregar**

 **-Falzar**

 **(b) Maverick characters**

 **(c) God-like enemies/allies**

 **(d) Racial or profane character ideas**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter X - A Night to Remember

 _Wow... I guess I really did build some muscle_. Shiroji thought as he looked at himself in the mirror. He still couldn't believe that only a few weeks of being a Seeker would improve his physique to such an extent, however it was to be expected considering how much more active he had become. Snapping back to reality, he started rummaging through his drawers for suitable clothing for his date. After about ten minutes, he found what he was looking for and laid the outfit on the bed and admired the look, his heart pounding faster and faster with each passing second. For as long as he could remember, he had feelings for Sierra, but he never had the courage to ask her out. Tonight, however, he was determined to tell her how he felt.

"Tonight's gonna be a good night!" Shiroji said, smiling to himself as he got dressed and admired the effect of his outfit in the mirror. Gelling his blonde hair back into spikey waves and putting his shoes on, he walked out of his room and went to wait for Sierra in the living room.

"Oh man... All of these clothes and I _still_ don't know what to wear tonight!" Sierra exclaimed as she laid all of her clothes out on the bed that the Akihikos generously allowed her to use while her parents were away on their business trip. Dressed in nothing but a blue pair of panties and a matching bra, she stared at one piece of clothing to the next. Normally she would just throw on a pair of jeans or a skirt with any shirt that seemed to look cool together. Tonight, however, was a special night and she wanted to look her best. Finally deciding on a skirt, she started to look for a matching shirt.

"This could work!" She said to herself with a smile, holding up the shirt to her body and the skirt at her waist to admire the effect. Pleased with the appearance, she slipped her clothes on and started to do her do her make-up. She wasn't holding anything back tonight: She had been waiting for this night for almost three years now, ever since she first developed her crush on Shiroji. Once she was finished applying her blush, she stared at herself in the mirror. Achieving what she wanted and more, she smiled, grabbed her purse and walked out of the room to meet Shiroji downstairs.

In the living room, Shiroji was so nervous that he took to pacing in front of the tv. _What if my outfit isn't her taste?! What if she doesn't share the same felings that I have for her?_ Many questions similar to these and more raced through his mind, making him worry even more. Just as he was about to lose his cool, someone walked into the room that not only calmed him down, but the sight of her just took his breath away. Wearing a blue skirt that reached a little bit more than half way to her knees, matching knee-high socks and a thin, long-sleeved shirt with a chibi angel on the front of it, Sierra was so beautiful that even a goddess would be put to shame. However it wasn't the outfit that did it for him, it was the fact that her hair wasn't in its usual braid but was streaming down her back elegantly.

As she walked down the stairs, she couldn't help but get nervous. _What if he doesn't like me that way?! Did I overdress?! Oh man... I should've at least braided my hair back..._ She thought restlessly as she entered the living room to find Shiroji, only it wasn't what she was expecting at all. In fact, it was better. Shiroji just stood there, staring at her in a light leather jacket used for formal occasions with a plain white collared t-shirt underneath, neatly pressed black pants and matching dress shoes, his hair was gelled back in a spikey, wavy form. Her breath was just taken away as she took in the handsome man before her.

"You look great!" The two of them said in unison.

"Do you really think so?" Both of them said, once again in unison. Both of them just shyly turned their heads to the side, blushing. After a few minutes have passed, Shiroji decided to break the silence.

"So umm... You let your hair down..." He stated nervously. Running a hand through her hair, she looked back to him.

"I know... I'll go braid it real qui-" she began, but Shiroji stopped her.

"No don't. It looks nice." Shiroji admitted, his face turning redder by the second.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed. "I like what you did to yours, too."

"Thanks." Shiroji replied, smiling.

"So... what movie are we going to go see?" Sierra asked him curiously.

"I don't know yet. I wanted the both of us to decide so I figured we could pick something when we got there."

"Sounds good to me." Sierra said, smiling at him. As they walked to the front door, a voice spoke up from the kitchen.

"Hold on, you two..." Shota shouted, walking over to the two of them. "I want to know exactly what theater you are going to in case of an emergency."

"Romanoff Theater, Dad." Shiroji replied.

"Okay then. Just make sure I don't have to go down there and pick you up because things start 'heating up' if you know what I mean." Shota told them, winking.

"DAD! Seriously?!" Shiroji exclaimed, blushing more violently than ever. Sierra, however, was laughing.

"Hey! I made a girl laugh! That's my first victory today!" Shota joked, making Sierra laugh even more and making Shiroji roll his eyes, smiling all the while. Promising to behave, the two of them walked outside only to be stopped by Shota once again.

"Hey Shiroji!" Shota called out, making Shiroji turn around. Once he saw that he had his attention, Shota tossed a set of keys to Shiroji.

"Dad... are you sure?!"

"Yeah! You have a license. Put it to use!" Shota told him. "If you put a single scratch on her, though... Hell will break loose!"

"I won't, Dad... I promise." Shiroji replied, excitedly walking to the garage. Once the doors opened, a shiny blue 1981 Chevy Corvette greeted him in all its glory. Sadly, it had to be modified since gasoline was outlawed ten years ago and now all vehicles run on electricity, but it was still the sexiest thing on wheels in Shiroji's eyes. Looking over to Sierra, he could tell that she was also captivated by the beauty of the vehicle in front of them. Getting in the car, Shiroji started the car and the engine roared to life, all five hundred and ninety horse power that his father built himself. Throwing her into gear, the Corvette rumbled as it rode down the driveway and into the street, the noise attracting the attention of the neighbors, all nodding their heads, and some even whistling, in approval of the beautiful example of the true era of muscle cars.

As they pulled up to the theater, Shiroji let Sierra out of the car.

"I'll be back in a sec. I'm gonna go park this beast." Shiroji told her, driving off once he got the nod from her. Finding a parking spot proved to be rather difficult, however he eventually found one and parked the car. As he got out, he made sure to lock it to prevent someone from stealing it, then walked back to the theater. Suddenly, he got a creepy vibe: the kind you get when someone is watching you. Checking to see if anyone was watching, he pulled out his ParCon and activated its new radar system. Noticing that there were no signs of Nightmares or Vibrants around, he put his ParCon away and shrugged the feeling off. _Must be my imagination..._

Spotting Sierra, he waved to her, who waved back as she walked over to him.

"Took you long enough, slowpoke! What did you do, kiss it good bye?!" She teased.

"No... I just had a wierd feeling that someone was watching me was all..." Shiroji admitted. As they began to walk over to the movie listings, Sierra grabbed onto Shiroji's arm and leaned into him as they walked, making him blush so violently that he was practically glowing. Finally deciding on an action film involving two Seekers who go undercover, they walk inside to get their snacks and drinks, and sat down in the theater as the previews started.

About an hour into the movie, Shiroji felt a sudden weight on his shoulders and caught a wiff of the smell of a sakura cherry blossom. He turned his head to see Sierra leaning her head on his shoulder, her eyes fixated on the screen. Smiling to himself, he slowly reached an arm around her and held her close to him.

"Shiroji... What do you think of me?" Sierra asked suddenly.

"W-What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean..." She replied, tilting her head back slightly so she could look into his eyes.

"Umm... well... I mean... err..." Shiroji stammered, blushing once again. _Smooth, genius... Smooth..._ Then she asked him something that caught him more off guard than when he fought Volcan Ifrit.

"Do you like me?" The question was so sudden that he actually jumped slightly, choking a bit from the sip of his drink that made its way down his wind-pipe.

"Well of course I like you!" Shiroji whispered, being mindful that they were still in a movie theater. "You're my best fr-"

"That... That's not what I'm asking..." Noticing how she couldn't look him straight in the eye when she told him that, he knew that the moment has finally come.

"Sierra... I-" Shiroji began, however a loud bang caught his attention and he started to look for its source. It didn't take him long as he found an old man hovering above his seat, glowing as he slowly transformed into an orange, bear-like being with giant hands. The explosions were coming from energy that was being gathered in his hands that were tossed randomly throughout the theater. Before Shiroji could get himself and Sierra out of their seats, however, a flash of purple streaked overhead and the Vibrant was cut in two and slowly transformed back to normal. Suddenly, however, five more Vibrants, all the same as the one that was just defeated, appeared next to the purple-armored Seeker. Recognizing the bug-like appearance of Scarab, Shiroji decided that he would leave it up to him and get himself and Sierra out of there.

"Come on, Sierra. We need to go." Shiroji told her, grabbing her hand and gently pulling her out of her seat. As they reached the exit to the theater, they were blocked by one of the Vibrants, this one was black and had green chest armor with spikes coming out of the shoulder.

"Where do you two think you're going?!" The Vibrant asked. "The party's just about to get fun!" He said, aiming a palm at Sierra, but Shiroji pushed her out of the way and took the hit himself.

"SHIRO!" Sierra cried as Shiroji was sent flying into the wall. The Vibrant grabbed Sierra and ran off.

"Get your ass back here!" Shiroji shouted, running after the vibrant, clutching his side all the while. No matter what happened next, he had to get her back. He just had to. Two more Vibrants blocked his path, allowing the boss to get away.

"Dammit!" Shiroji swore as the boss Vibrant ran through a door with a sign that said 'Roof Access' on it. Determination overcoming him, he tried to run past the lackeys, but to no avail as they pushed him back. Suddenly, Shiroji's shadow came to life as it struck both Vibrants in the chest, returning them both to normal. Not a second later, Scarab appeared before him from his shadow.

"Are you okay?" Scarab asked as he helped Shiroji up.

"Yeah. But he's got Sierra!" Scarab just shook his head.

"Why haven't you Shifted yet?" Scarab demanded. Shiroji didn't answer. "I have my hands full with the lackeys right now... You are the only other Seeker around for a good while. Not even Reaper with his speed will be able to make it here in under five minutes... You are the only one who can save her."

"But-" Shiroji began to argue, however he was picked up by the collar of his shirt, suspended in mid-air by Scarab.

"What's more important?! Your identity or her life?! I'll warn you right now, one of these choices will make me your enemy." Scarab threatened, tossing Shiroji to the ground and swinging his arm to the side, allowing an energy blade to form at his fingertips. "I'll leave the decision to you." He told him as he dashed off to confront the remaining lackeys. Shiroji didn't even have to think about the answer, for it was so obvious: Sierra's life was worth more than his identity. She would be put at risk of interrogation if she were to ever be questioned by NES or Vibrant alike, but if he didn't do something here and now, she would die.

Rushing to the roof, he pulled out his ParCon.

"Shift! M3G4!" As Shiroji finished transforming into Mega Man, he pulled out a blaster, kicked the door to the roof open, and aimed the blaster at the Vibrant, who was holding Sierra over the edge of the building. "Let her go!"

"Mega Man!" Sierra exclaimed, however a shake of the Vibrant's arm made her scream. Firing a warning shot near the Vibrant's foot, Shiroji stared at the Vibrant coldly.

"Let her go!" He repeated, this time the Vibrant laughed at him.

"Poor choice of words, pal!" He said, releasing Sierra and allowing her to drop to the ground. Without a second thought, he rushed past the Vibrant, leapt off the edge, twisted around in mid-air, pulled out his second blaster, and fired a Dark Shot at the vibrant, causing him to collapse and return to his human form. Returning both blasters to their holsters, he twisted around again and dove after Sierra, gaining speed by pinning his arms tight to his body and putting his Air Dash skill to use. As he became parallel to Sierra, he grabbed her and quickly spun his body down to land on his feet, the sidewalk cracking slightly from the sudden impact.

"Are you hurt?" Shiroji asked her, helping her to her feet, but had to catch her again as her legs gave out from underneath her. "You know... I should start charging you. I am starting to become something of a bodyguard to you." Shiroji said, laughing. Although she was still scared, Sierra managed to smile at his joke.

"I'm okay, thanks to you." Sierra replied, hugging Shiroji. As she let go of him, she started to look around frantically. "Is Shiroji okay?!"

"He's fine. The other Seeker, Scarab, helped him get outside." Shiroji lied. Sierra breathed a sigh of relief as her fears passed.

"I'm glad to know he's okay... I should go look for him. Thank you so much, Mega Man! I don't care what they say about you on the news, you truly are a hero." She told him as she walked over toward the direction of the Corvette.

"A hero, huh?" Shiroji said, letting the words sink in. Suddenly snapping back to reality, Shiroji began to panic. "Oh shit!" He swore as he ran away from the forming crowd of Mega Man fans and media. _Crap I'm not going to make it to the car before her!_ He thought as he ran faster. Suddenly, Scarab appeared and started to talk to Sierra. When she looked away, Scarab motioned his head to the left. Following the movement, Shiroji saw an alley and understood right away what Scarab was doing: He was buying Shiroji some time to transform and beat her to the car. Nodding his appreciation, Shiroji ran to the alley and Shifted back to normal then ran for the Corvette, putting on the worried act so that when Sierra eventually did make it to the car, he was able to convince her that he was told by Scarab to wait there. Suddenly, she started to cry. Not knowing what else to do, he ran up to her and hugged her. For about ten minutes, they stood there within each others' embrace, both shedding tears.

"I was so scared!" Sierra cried.

"I know... I was too..." Shiroji replied softly, trying to calm her down a bit. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"When I saw you on the ground after that Vibrant hit you..." She began, but the rest was cut off by Shiroji, who couldn't stand to see her cry anymore.

"I don't."

"Huh?!"

"Your question earlier... I don't..." New tears started to form in Sierra's eyes, but before she could say anything, he kissed her. At first, Sierra was shocked, however she didn't resist. In fact, it soothed her. Once the kiss was over, they just looked at each other.

"I thought you just said-" Sierra began, but once Shiroji shook his head.

"I don't like you, Sierra... I love you." With that, she hugged him so tight that he could barely breath. From the shadows, Scarab watched them as they got into the car and drove off.

"Shiroji Akihiko... Mega Man... You are an interesting one, indeed..." He said to himself as he sunk into the shadows at his feet.

 **First off, the 1981 Chevy Corvette is owned by Chevy and is not my own creation. All credit to this sexy and amazing vehicle belong to them entirely. Also, as always, I am interested in the ideas you all have for OCs. If you want to have an OC appear in the story, just fill out the following information and send it to my Inbox. (Please don't post your OC in the Reviews... They will be ignored.) Just please keep in mind that not all contributions will be accepted.**

 **(1) First and Last name of character**

 **(2) Male or Female**

 **(3) Age**

 **(4) Appearance**

 **(5) Seeker? (If yes, please include the following info)**

 **\- Code Name**

 **\- Seeker Appearance**

 **\- Character Referrence, if any**

 **\- Main weapon(s) of choice (may have up to thre individual weapons)**

 **\- Elemental Affinity (if any. May only have up to two different elements)**

 **\- Special Technique (Please try and be creative.)**

 **(6) Background Story. (If a location is included, describe it as best you can and I will place the character's origins in the area most suited to them.)**

 **If your character is a Nightmare or Vibrant, do not fill out the Seeker information.**

 **The following OC requests will NOT be accepted:**

 **(a) Any of the following character references:**

 **-Zero**

 **-Axel**

 **-Bass**

 **-Rogue**

 **-Mega Man or X**

 **-Harpuia**

 **-Phantom**

 **-Fenrir**

 **-Leviathan**

 **-Life Virus**

 **-Gospel Mega Virus**

 **-Alpha**

 **-Duo**

 **-Nebula Grey**

 **-Gregar**

 **-Falzar**

 **(b) Maverick characters**

 **(c) God-like enemies/allies**

 **(d) Racial or profane character ideas**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI - The Sinister Shadow**

Returning home from the movies, Shiroji and Sierra were greeted by a rather disgruntled Shota on the porch. Judging by his expression, he was worried sick over something. _I guess he knows about what happened..._ Shiroji thought as he approached his father.

"Why didn't you call me?!" Shota demanded, rising from the porch step he was sitting on. "Dispatch just called me a few minutes ago telling me that a Vibrant was wreaking havoc at the theater!"

"My phone got busted..." Shiroji admitted, pulling out his phone, which had snapped in half. "I got hit by the vibrant and when I hit the ground, I sat on it. I couldn't call you." Seemingly satisfied with Shiroji's answer, he turns to Sierra.

"I was taken by the Vibrant..." She admitted, telling Shota how Shiroji tried to protect her, then how Mega Man saved her and how Scarab checked up on her after the incident. Sighing with relief, Shota sat back down on the step.

"At least you two are okay..." Shota sighed, leaning back and stretching, causing his back to pop a bit and releasing all the tension from the stress of the night's events. "Well, you two must be hungry... so how about I go ahead and cook us some homemade pizza and fries?" Shota asked, grinning as he saw the two teens' faces light up at the mention of his homemade pizza and motioned them inside.

The next morning, Shiroji was woken up with the sound of his father shouting from downstairs. Not even ten seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

"Forgive me for the early visit, but Captain Kito has requested that you and Miss Sierra Kozaki join him for the day." A robotic voice told him through the door. "May I enter the room?"

"Umm... yeah, go ahead." Shiroji said, quickly grabbing up his ParCon and hiding it under his pillow as Wing, Dan Kito's robotic armor, walked into the room, followed closely by a rather pissed off Shota.

"I DON'T CARE WHO YOUR CAPTAIN IS! I'M YOUR COMMANDER AND YOU DID NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO ENTER MY HOME!" Shota shouted, also entering the room and sticking a finger in Wing's face.

"Correction, Reaper. I take orders only from my creator and Captain Kito. Until the Captain commands me to obey your orders, then you have no authority over myself or my actions." Wing replied, further pissing Shota off.

"Then I give that command now, Wing! Now do as Akihiko says!" Said a voice from what appeared to be some sort of intercom built into Wing's armor.

"Affirmative, Capt-"

"DAN!"

"Affirmative, Dan..." Wing replied, walking past Shota and pausing out of the room. "I apologize for my behavior, Commander. I shall wait outside for your son and Miss Kozaki." As Wing went downstairs, Shota just shook his head and walked out of the room. Shiro just stared at the door as Becky poked her head in the doorway.

"Umm... What just happened?" She asked. Shiroji just shook his head, still half asleep, and shrugged his shoulders. Understanding his response, Becky continued down the hall and towards the bathroom. Deciding that it wouldn't be wise to keep Wing waiting, Shiro got dressed, grabbed his ParCon, and threw on his jacket as he walked across the hall to the guest bedroom to wake up Sierra, only to have the door open itself before he could knock as Sierra stood in the doorway, wearing a blue night gown and looking just as tired as he did.

"I take it you heard all of that..." Shiroji asked sleepily.

"Kinda hard not to... Your dad was pissed!" She said, half laughing and half yawning.

"Yeah he was... Anyway, that guy Dan Kito that saved us yesterday wants to spend the day with us or something and sent his armor, Wing, to pick us up."

"Okay. I'll be down in a minute. Just let me get dressed." She told him as she shut the door to change. Walking into the living room, Shiroji hears his dad in the kitchen muttering to himself, more than likely about the incident just now with Wing, and decides to just walk outside and wait for Sierra there. As he walks out the front door, he notices Wing standing in the drive way, a couple of the neighborhood kids grouped around him. Some of them were just standing there, staring at him in awe while two of them were laughing and playing with him. To Shiroji's surprise, Wing kneeled down and picked the two of them up and sat them on his shoulders as he hovered a few feet in the air, making the other kids clap and the ones on his shoulders cheer with laughter.

"Now that's a sight to see..." Shocked by the sudden voice, Shiroji turned around to see his father watching as well, along with Sierra who had apparently finished getting ready and was also watching, smiling.

"Yeah it is..." Shiroji replied, watching as Wing gently placed the children back on the ground. Once the kids left, Wing turned his attention to Shiroji and Sierra, who were still watching him.

"I apologize for the delay, Shiroji and Sierra. I shall now escort you to the captain's location." Wing stated as his robotic body opened up. "Shiroji, please step inside. It will make carrying the two of you much easier and safer."

"B-But-" Shiroji protested, however his father interrupted him.

"He is not a Seeker, Wing. He cannot pilot you."

"Oh?" Wing asked, seemingly amused as he closed up his body. "My apologies, I naturally assumed that your son was a Seeker as well, Commander, considering your other son, Kizu-"

"Well he's not, so you will have to use the Dragoon System to carry them both." Shota snapped.

"Dragoon System?" Sierra asked curiously. Shota was about to answer when Wing stepped forward.

"Allow me, Commander."

"Very well, and from now on, Wing, please refer to me as Shota when I'm off duty. Otherwise, just call me Reaper. Everyone does."

"Command acknowledged, Shota. The Dynamo Reactor Actuated Guardian Offensive Operations Nanobot System, or DRAGOON System for short, is a weapons system that is currently in its prototype phase that uses nanobots to form advanced energy weaponry for combat." Wing explained, summoning the seven triangular bits that Wing and Dan used to protect Zach yesterday. "They only respond to me or to whoever is piloting me at the time. As demonstrated yesterday, I am able to create more than just weapons with them, such as a shield, a carrier, even wings if the need were to arise." As he finished his explaination, Wing waved his arm to the ground and the DRAGOON bits formed a platform made of energy.

"Please step onto the platform." Wing instructed, walking to the center of the platform and kneeling down, placing both hands on the platform and causing it to hover a foot off the ground. Following his instructions, Shiroji and Sierra both walked onto the platform. Once the two of them were positioned on either side of Wing, the platform rose higher and began to fly above the houses and towards the city.

"Wing, how is it that we are able to stand on this if it's made of energy?" Sierra asked, her curiosity also catching Shiroji's attention. He was actually about to ask the same question himself.

"This energy, believe it or not, is actually the nanobots themselves. They are microscopic and therefore cannot be seen fully to the naked eye. When gathered in large quantities, such as right now, they form a transparent, yet very solid, energy field." Wing explained as he continued to pilot the platform over the school.

"Wait, I thought those were the nanobots..." Shiroji claimed, pointing to one of the DRAGOON bits.

"That is just a container. It stores and directs the nanobots. Without them, the nanobots would not be able to take shape. The nanobots themselves are hard to control. However, with the help of the bits, they can be directed since they will want to travel from once source of power to the next."

"So that means that there will be a weak spot in their defenses since they are drawn to the bits..."

"Very sharp of you. They do tend to stay near the bits, so the places with the least amount of nanobots would, in fact, be a weakness." Wing complimented as they began to descend near the hospital. As they approached, they noticed that their friend Zach was outside at the entrance with a bandage across his nose. Accompanying him was the captain, unmistakeable due to his tan complexion. As the platform touched down on the ground, Wing walks over to Dan and waves an arm at the platform, causing the nanobots to return to the bits and the bits to Wing's arm. As the platform disappeared, both Shiroji and Sierra harmlessly drop about an inch or so to the ground where the platform used to be.

"Reporting in, Dan. I have brought the two others involved in yesterday's attack to you as requested." Wing stated as he saluted Dan, who returned the salute.

"Good work, Wing."

"What are my next set of orders, Captain?"

"Just stand by until I give you new orders."

"Ackowledged." As Wing stepped to the side, Zach walked up to Shiroji and shook his hand.

"What's up, brotha?" Zach greeted, sounding a little congested.

"Not much, man... not much. How's the face?"

"Hurts like hell, can't smell anything, but I'll be okay. Just a broken nose. Doc said it should be good in a couple weeks." Zach replied, scratching around the bandage. "Damn thing itches like crazy, though..." Shiroji couldn't help but laugh. _Same old Zach. Even though he was knocked out by a Vibrant, he doesn't let that stop him from having fun._ Before Sierra could walk over to Zach, Dan clears his throat.

"Well now, I guess you three are wondering why I asked you all to accompany me on a school day... The answer is that I wanted to make sure everyone was okay, especially you two." Dan said, pointing to Sierra and Shiroji. "I heard you two were at the theater that was attacked last night."

"I got hit by one of them... but aside from a little bruising, I'm okay." Shiroji replied, lifting his shirt to reveal a rather large bruise where he got hurt trying to save Sierra last night.

"All it did to me was take me hostage... I wasn't hurt or anything..." Sierra told him. Satisfied with their answers, Dan walked past them.

"That's good to hear. Now the second reason is-"

"Wait, what were you two doing at the theater to begin with?" Zach demanded, giving the two of them an accusing stare. Sierra just giggled slightly while Shiroji dropped the news on him.

"We were on a date, Zach. The two of us are together now." He said, blushing slightly as Sierra grabbed his arm and kissed him on the cheek. Zach looked at them with a wide grin and just started laughing.

"ABOUT DAMN TIME!" He laughed, clutching his side. "I was starting to get sick of watching you two stare at each other when the other wasn't looking." Sierra walked over to him and bonked him on the head. "OW! The hell?!"

"Jerk!" She shouted, walking back over to Shiroji and turning her back on Zach.

"ANYWAY..." Dan interrupted, clearing his throat again. "The second reason is that I wanted to talk to you about a certain vigilante in the area..."

"He's not a vigilante! Mega Man's a hero!" Sierra shouted, shocking both Zach and Shiroji. Dan just shook his head.

"Although I am interested in him too, he wasn't the one I was referring to." Dan corrected, his tone getting more serious. "I am referring the one who calls himself Scarab. He can bend the shadows to his will and wears purple metallic armor. Have any of you seen him?"

"Yes, actually." Sierra confessed. "Last night, as a matter of fact. He helped save me. He was actually very kind to-"

"I want you to stay away from him..." Dan stated bluntly.

"Why?" Shiroji asked, getting defensive. "Sure, he's a little shady, but he seems to have the same idea as Mega Man." Dan just gave him a grim look.

"While he does fight on the same side of justice as us Seekers... his methods are rather... dark." Dan explained, sitting down on a nearby bench. "Scarab is what I would like to call an Anti-Hero... Someone who believes in justice, but will do anything to achieve it... and I mean ANYTHING! He once stabbed right through a hostage just to kill the Vibrant. He also used his Shadow Prison technique to crush not only the rebels in Cipher City last year, but the innocent people that happened to be in the area as well... His tactics are dangerous and he needs to be stopped. If you know anything about him, I need to know now.

"It... It can't be..." Sierra cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "Last night, when he spoke to me, he seemed like the kind of person who would never hurt anyone..."

"He's got a pretty smooth tongue on him... I assure you, he is all that I said: A rutheless killer. In fact, he has generated a name for himself as-"

"The Sinister Shadow... A rather interesting name if you aske me. Suitable, yet interesting." Said a voice from behind them. turning around, they see none other than Scarab, complete in his shining purple armor and the shadows beneath him swirling around his feet. "It's nice to see you again, Captain... Long time no see."

"Scarab, you are coming to HQ with me! You need to atone for your crimes!" Dan exclaimed, pulling out a ParCon. "Shift! Torrent!" As Dan raised the ParCon, his body became engulfed in a sphere of water. As he emerged, he was wearing deep blue upper armor with a red gem in the center of the chest piece, fins on the back of his wristguards and a single shark fin on the back. He had no boots, but there were also fins on the back of his legs. His helmet had two bladelike fins where his ears should be and on his forehead was another red gem, his visor the same red color. In his left hand was a massive glaive.

"Why do you always insist on fighting?" Scarab snapped, brinning his fingers together on his right hand and forming an energy blade at his fingertips.

"Because you never cooperate." Dan retaliated, preparing to attack. "Now FIGHT ME!" Rushing at Scarab, he swings his glaive and cuts him in half. As he turned around, however, he noticed that the body he cut was nothing more than a shadow. Suddenly, spikes emerged all around Dan from the shadows, all trained on him and atempting to skewer him. "Hydros Sphere!" Dan shouted, summoning a barrier of water to encase him and deflect the attack. "Sphere Burst!" The barrier exploded outward, sending thousands of droplets of water that shot out like kunai all around him. Once the attack ended, all was silent.

"It seems that you are still as strong as ever, Torrent..." Scarab's voice shouted out, his body somewhere out of sight.

"Same to you, although I wish you would fight me head on..." Dan taunted.

"Now now, my friend... you know that I am a long range specialist... my sword is just for show." Scarab teased. Suddenly a single shadow appeared on the wall next to Dan. "But if you insist..." He said, emerging from the shadow and aiming a slash at Dan, who seemed to anticipate the attack and parried it with a horizontal slash of his glaive. Catching Scarab off guard, Dan slashes at Scarab's leg, making contact on his left thigh, only to have Scarab's body disappear again.

"Damn it! Another shadow!" Standing still, Dan tries to judge Scarab's next move. Suddenly, a shadow appears overhead and from it, Scarab emerged, his blade aimed for the kill.

 _This must be the real one!_ Dan thought as he made no attempt to dodge. "NOW WING!"

"Yes, sir! Dragoon Binder!" Wing shouted, sending the DRAGOON bits after Scarab and successfully chaining him down. "Target aquired."

"Good job, Wing." Dan said, walking up to the chained Scarab and aiming his glaive at his throat. "Checkmate."

"Or so you think..." Scarab chuckled, his body disolving into the shadows beneath him and reappearing behind Wing.

"Shadow Prison!" Scarab shouted, encasing Wing in a dome of shadows that decreased in size with each second. Before it could shrink past Wing's size, however, a surge of energy broke through the prison. "What?!" Scarab exclaimed before getting blasted with a surge of electricity that shot out from Wing's outstretched hand.

"Pathetic..." Wing said smuggly. Before Scarab could get up again, Wing rushed in for another attack. "Dragoon Sword and Shield!" Wing shouted, having five of the bits form at his left hand as a pentagon shaped shield and the other two forming a sword as he rushed Scarab, who wasn't moving.

"Wing STOP!" Dan shouted, putting himself in the way of the attack, however Wing wasn't slowing down. Finally, Dan thrusted his glaive straight into Wing's chest, causing a surge of energy to rush out of his chest before hitting the ground. Turning his attention back to Scarab, he noticed that he disappeared. "Damn it, he got away!" He said before Shifting back to normal and turning his attention to Wing. "What the hell just happened?! He never disobeys an order..." Dan wondered, pressing a button on Wing's waist, causing him to open up to allow Dan inside.

"I got to get him back to his terminal for diagnostics." He claimed, closing Wing up. "Armor Up! Striker!" As the armor closed up, Dan stood up and activated the Knight System. Right away, Dan noticed that something was wrong. He couldn't move his body.

"Captain Kito, are you okay?" Shiroji asked, a bad feeling forming in his gut. Suddenly, Dan raised an arm at Shiroji, electricity crackling at his fingertips.

"Shiroji! Run! I can't control it!" Dan ecxlaimed, releasing a bolt of electricity at Shiroji and the others. Thinking quickly, Shiroji pulled Sierra and Zach aside to avoid the bolt by mere inches. The bolt was so close that it made his hair stick up on end as it passed.

"What the-"

"Shiroji! I don't know how or when, but Wing must've been compromised! Get out of here!" Dan shouted as he watched his arm raise on its own and fire another bolt at them. This time, however, Scarab reappeared from the shadows ar Shiroji's feet and used his sword to deflect the blast back at Dan.

"Scarab!" Shiroji shouted, getting to his feet and helping Sierra and Zach up. "Dan's not in control!"

"I noticed that! I'll hold him off, now GO!" Scarab commanded, rushing at Dan and engaging him in combat. Taking Zach and Sierra by the arms, Shiroji rushes them down an alleyway that leads to the school. Once in front of the school, Sierra stops him.

"Shiro! We need to call your dad!"

"Oh crap! I almost forgot!" Shiroji replied, pulling out his phone and calling his dad. "Come, on! Please pick up!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII: Lightning Strike**

Watching as Shiroji and Sierra soared off with Wing, Shota waves to the neighbors who were watching their kids play with Wing a couple minutes ago and walks back into the house. Shota hated having days off when Shiroji was out an about... he would get so bored that he would find himself pacing the house trying to find something to do, which is what he was doing right now. Eventually, he decided to go to the donut shop down the road and get a cup of coffee and a bagel. Considering the nice day, he figured that he would walk.

Halfway down the street, he felt uneasy... like something was out of place... Brushing this feeling off as a natural instinct from his many years as a Seeker, Shota continues down the street towards the donut shop. Every once in a while, one of the neighbors would wave to him and thank him for his efforts and service, which always satisfied Shota because that was what he wanted as a Seeker all along: The power to ensure everyone was safe and to help people in need. This was so popular, aside from the fact that he was one of the few remaining Origin Seekers.

Walking up to the donut shop, he notices their special on the board just outside the door that suited him perfectly: "Buy a large coffee, get a free bagel or donut!"

"Simon... you always know just what I want." Shota grinned as he walked inside, a little bell on the door announcing his arrival.

"Hi! Welcome to Simon's Baker- Oh hey, Shota! How've you been, my friend?" A young man behind the counter greeted, smiling at Shota.

"Hey Simon! Busy as always... this is my first true day off in a long time... how about yourself?" Shota replied, putting on the tired old man act which made Simon laugh. Looking no older than twenty five, tall with short brown hair and matching eyes with glasses, you wouldn't believe it at first glance but Simon was actually the same Simon who owned the shop. As young as he is, he always had excellent management and business skills.

"Been a little slow today, but then again it IS a Monday... Not many people off work today... You should've been here yesterday... we got SLAMMED!" Simon exclaimed, emphasizing his words by slamming his hands on the counter. Shota laughed,. That was what he always liked about Simon, always excited and energetic. "Anyway, you having your usual today? As you noticed, we have that special going on that will suit you perfectly."

"Yes please. And let me get a dozen assorted donuts."

"Hungry?"

"No they're not for me. Shiroji and I have a house guest for a few weeks and I just want to make sure she feels at home."

"Okay cool. But knowing you, you're still gong to eat about half the box..." Simon teased, laughing as he started preparing Shota's coffee. "I like coffee just as much as anyone else, but how can you take it black like this?"

"The strong taste helps to keep me awake. Really it's like beer; you gotta aquire the taste for it. Once you get used to it, it doesn't bother you that much." Shota replied, pulling out his wallet. "How much do I owe you, Simon?"

"Two dollars."

"And what about the donuts?"

"On me."

"No seriously... How much..."

"No seriously... they're on me, Shota... You saved me all those years ago. This is the least I can do." Simon retaliated, his happy demeanor replaced with a serious one. Shota knew exactly what he was talking about. Three years ago, Simon was on his way to sign the lease on the shop so he could start his business when he was possessed by a nightmare. Thankfully, Reaper was right down the road and saw the incident and removed the nightmare before it could take full effect on Simon. Ever since, Shota made it a point to visit Simon at least twice a week for coffee. "I probably wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for you..."

"It was no trouble, Simon... Really..." Shota assured him. "Well, since you won't let me pay for the donuts... Guess I just gotta leave you a bigger tip." Rolling his eyes, Simon boxed up several donuts and bagged a bagel and handed them to Shota, who handed him twenty dollars.

"Shota! That's way too much!"

"Keep it or I won't let Shiroji help with your computer system when it's all buggy anymore." Shota teased, laughing as he saw Simon get wide-eyed. Shiroji was really good with gadgets and computer stuff, so Simon would regularly give him a call to see if he could fix the computers when they acted up.

"Looks like I don't have much of a choice..." Simon sighed, taking the twenty that Shota handed to him, and took eighteen from the register and put it in the tip jar. "You spoil me, you know that?"

"Hey that's my job as-" Shota started, but was interrupted by his cell phone. "Sorry, Simon give me a sec." He said, answering his phone. "Commander Akihiko speaking."

"DAD! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" It was Shiroji.

"Whoa, calm down! What happened?!"

"It's Wing! He's out of control! Dan tried to get inside of Wing to maintain control and now Wing is going on a rampage as Striker!"

"Where are you right now?! I'm on my way!"

"The hospital! Please hurry!" Hanging up, Shota's uneasy feeling was suddenly confirmed. Turning to Simon, Shota handed him the food and coffee. "Sorry Simon, can you hold on to these until I get back?"

"Of course. Go get em, Reaper!" Simon replied, cheering Shota on as he ran out the door.

"Shift! R34P!" Shota shouted, becoming engulfed in a black aura and emerging as Reaper, who dashed at full speed towards the hospital.

 **Meanwhile...**

"DAMN!" Shiroji shouted, just barely dodging another bolt of lightning from Striker, gripping Sierra's hand and pulling her along with him to protect her. Zach ran inside to notify the hospital personel to tighten security and call NES. Scarab had his hands full, weaving in and out of the shadows, which were scarce and few at the moment due to the lightning flashes distorting them. He was out of his element. Looking around, he tries to find a nice, shady spot for him to lure Striker to so that he can take him on equal ground. Finally, he spots the nearby playground with a lot of trees, providing the shadows he needed to fight Striker. Thinking quickly, Scarab punches Striker in the head and gets his attention.

"Catch me if you can!" Scarab taunted, back stepping towards the playground where several children were watching the fight. Shiroji noticed this and started running towards the playground since he was closer and figured he could get them away from the fight.

"You guys need to go! It's not safe!" He shouted, running at full speed, pulling one kid off the slide just in time as a bolt of lightning hit the slide and melted it into a steaming pile of molten plastic. If Shiroji's warning didn't get the message across, the bolt of lightning did as the kids scattered. As he let the kid go so he could run too, Shiroji noticed Sierra running after him, along with Zach.

"Shiroji!" Sierra and Zach shouted in unison.

"I'm fine! We need to get out of here! Dad's on the way right now."

"What about that guy?" Zach asked, pointing to Scarab, who was now fighting at full strength now that he had shadows to manipulate to his will once more. Shiroji wanted nothing more than to shift into Mega Man and help him, however he couldn't do so in front of Sierra and Zach unless he had absolutely no choice. Not to mention that Captain Kito was still conscious inside of the armor and was trying with all of his might to slow Wing down. The captain made it clear that he was interested in finding Mega Man as well and figured that it would be bad if he found out that he was Mega Man.

Scarab sent wave after wave of shadowy spears at Striker, trying with all of his might to stop him.

"Damn it!" He shouted as his arm got shot by Striker's blaster. If he didn't side step at the last second, he would've lost his arm. "Shadow Step!" Scarab shouted, rushing at Striker only to disappear at the last second, confusing Striker. Suddenly, Scarab reappears behind Striker and slashes him in the back.

"GAH! You filthy little insect!" Striker shouted, spinning around while grabbing one of his beam sabers and slashed at the air behind him since Scarab had already disappeared again, only to get slashed in the arm. Swinging blindly, Striker attempted to cut Scarab down again. "Stand still!"

"Wing! Stop this! Why are you doing this?!" Dan shouted from inside the armor, still trying to slow Wing down by resisting his movements, however, Wing was far stronger than he was before and Dan could do nothing more than slow him down.

"I've had about enough of you, boy..." Wing said, charging lightning into his hands, opening his chest piece and exposing Dan's body, and pressed both hands onto Dan's chest.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Dan screamed, and suddenly nothing could be heard from Dan. Sierra started to cry. Walking over to Sierra, Shiroji hugged her and reassured her that Dan would be fine since he was still shifted as Torrent when he entered the armor. Once she calmed down, she looked behind Shiroji with wide eyes. Turning around, he sees that Striker had finally caught Scarab and was about to deliver the finishing blow with his beam saber.

"Wing, NO!" Shiroji shouted, but as the blade was about to pierce Scarab's chest, something was hurled at Wing from behind them. Spinning menacingly, it would have cut off Striker's arm if he didn't let go of Scarab at the last second. Embedding itself into a nearby tree, Shiroji recognized the weapon as a scythe.

"DAD!" Shiroji exclaimed, turning around to see none other than Reaper, his triple-barrelled shot gun in one hand as he walked up to Striker slowly.

"Shiroji, I want all of you to get out of here... NOW!" Reaper commanded, holding up his free hand and pointing at his scythe, which dislodged itself from the tree and returned to his hand. With a rush, Reaper leaped over them and engaged Striker in combat, swinging his scythe one handed while taking careful aim with his shotgun whenever he found an opening. The shotgun, however, was having little effect due to Striker's Dragoon System, which was now auto-activating to protect him from energy-based attacks. Holstering the shotgun, Reaper decides to focus on just using the scythe, improving his accuracy and speed.

"Death Star!" Reaper shouted, dashing around Striker with blinding speed, then slashing him with the scythe in such rapid succession that it left a star-shaped trail of energy as he slashed at Striker each time, however, the Dragoon System, once again, self-activated and protected him from the attack.

"Damn it!" Reaper swore, back stepping away from Striker to think of another angle when suddenly, Striker was encased in a black sphere. From behind Reaper, Scarab emerged from Reaper's shadow. His hand outstretched towards Striker.

"Shadow Prison." He sighs, slowly closing his hand, causing the sphere to decrease in size. Reaper grabs Scarab's hand and tries to stop him.

"If you do this, Dan will die!"

"Would you rather that he continue this rampage and kill everyone around us?!" Scarab shouted back, no remorse in his voice as he kicked Reaper away. Returning his attention to the sphere, he continued to close his hand slowly, making the sphere shrink even further. Reaper then rushed at Scarab, knocking him to the ground and disrupting the attack.

"There are other ways to solve this, damn it!" Reaper shouted, trying to stop Scarab from killing Dan.

"Like what, your little Black Knight friend?!" Scarab snapped back, his anger now getting the better of him. "He's not going to show!"

"You don't know that!"

"Oh but I do! Luckily for him, I know how to keep a secret..." He told Reaper. Shiroji knew for a fact that he was talking about Mega Man's identity and was glad that he could trust Scarab to at least honor his word. Catching Reaper off guard, he kicks him away and walks over to Striker, who was starting to break free of the Shadow Prison, and reinforces the sphere, slowly closing his hand and causing it to shrink once more. By now, the sphere was only about five and a half feet in diameter and was surely starting to crush Striker within. "You won't escape this time!" Scarab said menacingly, as the sphere got smaller and smaller. Eventually, it reached four feet in diameter. Any smaller, and it would likely start to break bones.

Suddenly, the sphere started to glow bright blue.

"The hell?!" Scarab shouted, trying to reinforce the sphere further, however the sphere blasted apart, a shockwave of blue lightning rushing out in all directions as all of that energy released at once. Thinking fast, Scarab jumped in front of Shiroji and the others and blocked the attack using a wall made of shadows. Reaper, however, took the full blast and was now laying unconcious on the ground, reverted back to human form.

"DAD!" Shiroji exclaimed, trying to run to his aid, however, someone held him back. Looking back, he sees both Zach and Sierra grabbing at his arm.

"Shiroji, stay here! It's too dangerous!" Sierra pleaded, fear in her eyes. Zach looked at him with the exact same fear.

"What she said! Your dad is Reaper! One of the Origins! It will take more than that to keep him down." He told him, trying to convince him to stay. However, Scarab turned his head and looked at the three of them.

"I...I'll Cover you guys... Get him... out of here..." Scarab painfully commanded. Getting a good look at Scarab now that he was so close to them, he was in rough shape... and the wall of shadows that he had created was heavily damaged as well, damaged to where the blast wasn't completely blocked. The top right part of his helmet from the cheek bone up was missing, revealing his eye and face, as well as his dark hair. his armor was also heavily damaged, his entore right arm now deprived of armor and his stomach revealed. If that wall wasn't there, Scarab, and possibly the three of them, would be dead... "What're you... waiting for?! G... GO!" HE shouted, lowering the shield as he charged at Striker, who instantly activated the Dragoon System to create a shield while grabbing one of his beam sabers.

Not wasting any time, the three of them run over to Shota, who is unconcious, and try to carry him off when suddenly, Scarab flies right past them and slams into the tree nearby.

"NNAAGH!" Scarab screamed as he his the tree, sliding down and slumping to the ground. Striker starts walking up to Scarab and Shota, the kids knocked back from shock. As he approached, Striker opened up his body and grabbed Dan, pulled him out of the armor, and tossed him out onto the ground. Without Dan inside of Striker anoymore, the armor started to twist and warp into a more life-like shape, lightning crackling from time to time as the rear of the armor extended back, growing an extra set of legs and the armor itself changing color to a more metallic blue. Looking down at them, Striker now resembled a centaur that was completely clad in blue metallic armor with a blue lightning ponytail emerging from his head, the Dragoon Bits circling him in a perfect pattern.

"You two have caused me more trouble than you're worth... But you aren't the ones I'm after..." Striker stated, picking up Scarab by the throat and pinning him up against the tree. "Now tell me where Mega Man is!" Scarab remained silent. Pulling him away from the tree, Striker slams him back into the tree with such strength that it actually caved in the bark slightly. "You dare to test the patience of Ixion Flash?!"

Again, Scarab remains silent. Shiroji turns back to see Scarab as he is repeatedly slammed into the tree, the steady pace of his chest moving in and out along with his pained expression the only signs of life left in him. Shiroji was starting to pull out his ParCon when Scarab looked dead at him with a look that said "Not yet." Putting his ParCon back in his pocket, he continued to help Zach and Sierra carry both Shota and Dan back into the hospital. Once inside, Shiroji made sure that both Zach and Sierra were able to get Dan and his dad to a doctor.

"Will you two be okay?" Shiroji asked, looking at both of them seriously. They both nodded, still in shock from the current situation. "Good. I'm going to go call Becky and tell her about Dad. I'll be back later." He half-lied, leaving the room. As he ran to the entrance of the building, he sent Becky a text about Shota, then pulled out his ParCon when he turned into an empty room.

"Shift! M3G4!" Shiroji shouted, raising the ParCon over his head and transforming into Mega Man, then proceeded to rush out of the room and back to the fight. Scarab's helmet was now completely destroyed, revealing his bloody and brised face. It was obvious that Ixion Flash decided to get more physical to beat an answer out of him.

"Last chance, boy! Tell me where he is! I know you have been tracking Mega Man!" Ixion Flash demanded, a sword of blue lightning forming in his hand. Pointing the blade at his throat, his anger only rose when Scarab looked over to Shiroji and smirked weakly.

"You won't beat him..." Scarab told him weakly, his smirk fading as he lost conciousness. Tossing him aside, Ixion Flash rose his sword above his head and prepared to finish off Scarab.

"Is that so? Then allow me to prove you wrong..." Bringing the sword down, Ixion Flash went for the kill. Thinking quickly, Shiroji shot a bullet at Ixion Flash, which was deflected by the Dragoon System with ease. HE expected this, but he just wanted to get his attention. Ixion Flash stopped right before the blade pierced Scarab's skull and turned around.

"You were looking for me?" Shiroji asked, now holstering his blaster and unsheathing his sword. It was obvious that energy attacks would have no effect on his opponent whatsoever. As he stared down Ixion Flash, his armor automatically went into Emergency Combat Mode.

"So the Black Knight finally shows himself... Took you long enough... My patience was wearing thin." Ixion Flash smirked, allowing the sword to disappear and crossed his arms.

 **As always, I am interested in seeing what my readers can come up with and I am willing to accept OCs that may fit the story's plot or may have a possible side story. Just PM me and we'll talk more :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter XIII: Darkness Unleashed**

"Sorry, I'm always late to the party..." Shiroji replied sarcastically, keeping his sword at the ready should his opponent attack. "Well you seem to already know about me... how is that exactly?" Ixion Flash just laughed.

"It would appear that a certain... acquaintance... of mine has taken an interest in you after your battle with the Pillar of Flame... I have been sent here to look for you." He stated, making Shiroji uneasy. _Why would anyone be looking for me... and what is the Pillar of Flame?_ This and many other thoughts swam through his mind, but one thought stood out the most: Who would go to the length of sending someone after him and why? One thing was for sure, though... whoever it is must be powerful indeed if they could get someone like Ixion Flash to do their bidding...

"Pillar of Flame? What is that?" Shiroji asked, trying to get more answers out of him. Once again, Ixion just laughed.

"My dear boy... Surely you haven't forgotten Ifrit... From what I remember, you two had quite the epic battle... It's a pity I wasn't able to witness it in person." Ixion sighed, staring off towards the hospital. "I really hated Ifrit... Such a bothersome little brat of a nightmare spawned from the dream of a little boy who thought he died and went to hell... But I will grant that he was powerful... powerful enough to become one of the Pillars of Cerebrum..."

"Cerebrum?"

"My master will explain that... which brings me to why I am here..." Ixion Flash stated, walking over to Shiroji, who tightened his grip on his sword and took a defensive stance. Ixion Flash just raised his hands.

"For one whose powers thrive from Darkness... you have quite the fire in you... However I did not come to harm you... Only to relay a message..." Ixion Flash told him, extending an arm to his side and creating a circle of electricity about two feet wide. When Shiroji looked into it, he saw what appeared to be static... Suddenly, it cleared up and a figure cloaked in darkness sitting on what appeared to be a throne appeared.

"Greetings Mega Man..." The figure greeted, their voice seemingly altered so that they could not be identified. "First, I must apologize for the display of force we used today... You see, we are in a hurry to speak with you..."

"So you attack innocent bystanders and nearly kill Scarab?!"

"We have a past with Scarab... One that will be settled in due time by my own hands... As for the children... well THAT was Ixion's doing... a matter that we will be discussing upon your return, Ixion..." The figure said, his tone of voice aggravated. Instantly, Ixion took to a knee and bowed to the display.

"Very well, Master... I understand..." Ixion replied, fear evident in his voice. Now Shiroji understood what kind of power this being had... If they are strong enough to put Ixion in their place, that was all the confirmation Shiroji needed to understand that he was no match for whoever this was... and if they should decide to attack the city in person, even Reaper unrestrained would have trouble fighting them... Shiroji turned his attention to the screen once again.

"Who are you?"

"I am called Void... a Nightmare of exceptional calibur... Leader of Cerebrum."

"What is Cerebrum?"

"Sorry, but I will not diclose that information to you at this time... You are too close to NES at this time..."

"Why are you searching for me?"

"I would like to extend an invitation to you... to become Cerebrum's new Pillar of Darkness..." Shiroji's heart caught in his throat as he heard this information. Some unknown organization was trying to recruit him, hurting others in the process... a powerful adversary is now grovelling to the mere image of their leader... and Scarab is merely inches from his life... He already knew his answer...

"I refuse." Shiroji stated simply, glaring at the screen. "Any organization who threatens the people and town I love is no ally of mine." Void shook his head.

"Once again, that was Ixion's doing... He disobeyed my orders once again, as per usual... In fact... as punishment, Ixion, you are no longer one of us..." Ixion looked up, anger replacing his look of fear.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Ixion shouted, his temper rising.

"You heard me... Your services are no longer required..." Void told him, a swirling mass appearing next to him on the screen in which Void reached into. Suddenly, a similar swirling mass appeared next to Shiroji. from it, a hand emerged and grabbed Shiroji's head.

"I'll just have you take care of him for me..." Void told him. Suddenly, a surge of sinister energy entered Shiroji's body, sending an intense surge of pain throughout his entire body.

"GAAAAAAAAAGH!" Shiroji screamed, the pain intensifying. It was as if were constantly being slashed by thousands of swords.

"Embrace your true self, boy... Embrace it... and become the perfect engine of destruction..." Void said, his voice fading as Shiroji's vison started to grow dark. Eventually, the world around him faded away into nothing...The pain also disappeared instantly... Looking at his body, he noticed that he was no longer transformed...

"Where am I... Did Void send me somewhere?" Shiroji asked himself, trying to reach out for anything that could prove helpful in his current situation, however he quickly learned that he couldn't move his arms and legs... "Wait... he said he wanted me to take care of Ixion... Now that I think about it... who IS Ixion? I can't remember... And who was it that told me to take care of them?" Shiroji asked, puzzled as he tried to remember... However, it seemed like the more he tried to remember, the more he forgot. Suddenly, he felt hungry... not just any ordinary hunger that could be satisfied with a burger and fries, though... a longing, really... One for violence...

"I feel like... destroying something..." He said, looking around in an attempt to find such a thing... Suddenly, he sees something in front of him... a blurred image... a being crackling with electricity and wearing heavy armor... "They look entertaining..." Shiroji sighed, grinning with anticipation... suddenly, the image violently stirred and what appeared to be a surge of black energy emerged on the display, hitting the being, who took quite the his and fell to the ground. His desire for violence not satisfied, he imagined claws slashing and tearing at the being he saw. Instantly, armored claws emerged in his view and started tearing at the being, slashing and hacking away as they silently screamed.

"More... MORE! Tear it... shred it... DESTROY IT!" Shiroji shouted maniacally, laughing as the screen did exactly what he imagined. He couldn't explain it, but he craved destruction and chaos all of a sudden, relished in the pain he was inflicting on the being on the screen... Eventually, he halted his assault and saw that the being wasn't moving anymore...

"Well THAT was boring... I need more! Give me something else to destroy! Something else to tear apart... SOMEONE TO KILL!" Shiroji screamed as the visual went dark and disappeared, his thirst for destruction intensifying drastically as he continued to scour the darkness for another display that would give him the pleasure he desired of more destruction. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Mega man, please stop!" It was familiar... a woman's voice. Suddenly, he found another display. Eager for destruction, he looked over to it and ignored the voice. He saw a girl with pink hair tied back in a braid... She looked... familiar... Suddenly, his thirst for destruction overcame him.

"Yes... YES! Her! I want to see her bleed!" Shiroji raged, his voice hoarse with a mix of ecstacy and lunacy as he imagined the best way to kill her. HE thought of grabbing her, causing an armored claw to grab her up. Something shook the display as he saw someone wielding a scythe attempt to slash at him. A foolish attempt: His armor couldn't be pierced by a weapon not born from the Nexus...

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" Shiroji shouted, imagining the person flying away. Suddenly, another armored claw slashed at the person, destroying their armor and leaving a bloody gash across their chest as they fell to the floor. The girl screamed and started to cry.

Suddenly, Shiroji felt something roll down his cheek... finally able to move again, he reaches a hand to his face... and finds a single tear...

"Tears? But why? Why am I crying? I'm having way to much fun to cry..." Shiroji questioned, puzzled. The voice spoke again.

"Mega Man please! I know that's not really you! It can't be you!"

More tears went rolled down Shiroji's face... He wanted to kill her... destroy her... but something was stopping him...

"Mega Man! Fight it!"

"Fight... it..." Shiroji said weakly, a voice echoing his that sounded like his own along with something evil...

"Yes, fight it! Come back to us!"

"Come... back... fight... it..." Shiroji replied, realizing the girl could hear him in the sinister echo of a voice... Suddenly, the thirst for blood abated and he could feel himself remembering things, little by little... He tried to remember the girl... her beautiful green eyes... the smell of her hair... Strawberries... That did it... The smell... it reminded him of his best friend.

"SIERRA!" He shouted, and the darkness lifted and he was on his knees, Sierra clutched in his arms. He felt weak, drained, and sick. Slowly and weakly, he looked around and saw his father in a bloody heap against the wall, unconcious.

"No D- Agh!" He shouted, trying to move, however even that slight twitch made his entire body surge with an intense pain. He felt something clawing at his mind, as if trying to make him move. He clutched Sierra tightly, as if holding on to her would ground him to this existance and not take him back to that dark world he escaped from. Eventually, the thing that was clawing at his mind disappeared, allowing him to ease his grip on Sierra... He looked into her eyes weakly... and saw the last thing he ever wanted to see in them... Tears and fear...

"Mega Man... W-What happened to you... What was that?!" She asked, her voice squeaky and breaking.

"W...What... happened..." Shiroji asked her, looking around. He also saw Scarab on the opposite side of the room along with Zach, both unconcious. He looked to his father... and his eyes widened as he noticed that blood was pooling underneath him...

"Reaper...?... Who... what?" He muttered, barely having the strength to talk. Sierra suddenly backed away from him.

"You mean... you don't... remember ANY of that?!" Sierra asked in disbelief, as if she saw something so horrible that it scarred her for life. He shook his head... Her eyes widened even more.

"How could you?! How could you forget THAT?! It was awful! I don't know what happened to you... but you almost killed everyone!" Suddenly Shiroji remembered the images he saw in that world, and realized that it was him... he attacked Ixion... He attacked Reaper... and worst of all... he even thought about killing Sierra!

"Oh dear God... What... What h-have I done?!"

 **Sorry about the insanely late update and short chapter... Just got through with moving and didn't have internet for a while... As well as my laptop being packed away and I am just today unpacking it... I will be resuming my weekly updates as of today.**


End file.
